Chapter 27
Kenneth Rumore, the head of the Rumore baronial family, was attacked by a Monstrous Beast on his way home, the news sweeping through the mansion.
It was a disaster that coincided with the reorganization of the escort’s forces, leaving him with only a minimal number of guards.
It was reported that he encountered a Monster-level Monstrous Beast, the carriage was wrecked, and the escort was annihilated.
Naturally, the people of the mansion expected the worst.
They braced themselves for the deaths of both the baron and baroness who were in the carriage, but…
“The Lord has returned!”
Contrary to expectations, they all survived.
What was surprising was that they were completely unharmed.
Even the minor chronic illnesses that the baron usually suffered from were completely cured.
The baron and his wife, returning to the mansion, recalled the events of that day.
“Who were they?”
“…I have no idea. I made inquiries, and they don’t seem to be affiliated with the Holy Order.”
“And one of them was a Beastman, right?”
“I think they said something before they left…”
“By the will of the Great Moon, I believe.”
They recalled the memory of that day.
Two girls appeared out of nowhere, saved them, and vanished just as quickly.
Magic beyond imagination that instantly killed a Monster-level Monstrous Beast, and overwhelming Divine Power that regenerated severed limbs in an instant.
It was a story that would be hard to believe if they hadn’t experienced it themselves.
“…We owe them our lives.”
“Indeed.”
The grace of being saved at the crossroads of life and death.
There was a desperation that only those facing death could feel.
Therefore, there was no greater debt than a life debt.
At the time, they were too distraught to hold them back, but if they ever encountered them again, they had to repay them properly.
And so.
“I’ll send people to find them. If we offer a large reward, we’ll find some clues.”
“A girl traveling with a Fox Beastman… It’s not a common combination, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find them.”
****
Meanwhile.
I was leaning back on the sofa, scratching my head and killing time.
“This is the life.”
The office was always noisy, filled with particularly chaotic individuals.
Especially after receiving personnel from the Great Lord, there hadn’t been a single quiet moment.
It was inevitable, with nearly thirty people crammed into this small office.
“I need to expand the office…”
More people meant less space.
It wasn’t just a shortage; some people had to take turns camping because there wasn’t enough room to sleep.
As a modern man with a conscience, I thought this couldn’t continue.
I felt I needed to provide proper accommodations to comfortably exploit their labor.
“Balkan.”
“You called?”
“What do you think about expanding the office?”
He glanced at me and asked,
“Does this office also belong to the Imperial Family?”
“Yes, it’s like renting the office for the five years I’m stationed here.”
“Then wouldn’t it be better to build a separate office rather than expanding this one?”
…Is that so?
I hadn’t thought about that.
But listening to him, building a new one would be much cleaner than touching the existing office.
“Is that possible?”
“I think we can request it from Headquarters.”
“…And the cost?”
“Of course.”
…They were truly a generous benefactor.
Perhaps the best thing I did after coming here was building a connection with the Great Lord.
I went outside and looked around; there was plenty of space.
I could just build it wherever I liked.
After all, Blackmore was under my jurisdiction, and it was up to me how I used the land.
It was then.
“…?”
Thud, thud.
I heard footsteps in the distance.
And they were getting closer.
Which meant they were headed this way.
‘Is it the Imperial Family?’
But why?
Although the Imperial Family visited regularly every month for inspection, it wasn’t time yet.
“……”
I frowned and listened intently.
The footsteps grew clearer.
A moment later, a dark figure emerged from the dense bushes.
“Hey, Balkan.”
The one who called Balkan in a grating voice was a man with jet-black hair.
A muscular man with scars all over his body.
His eyes were so sharp that just meeting his gaze sent a chilling tension through my body.
Balkan, observing the situation, immediately bowed his head as he recognized the man.
“…Third Lord.”
Thanks to that, there was no need to ask for the man’s identity.
The Third Lord, Kwonseong Kalen.
…The lord of the Dark Shadow Society Leader, who died because of me.
“Hmm.”
He stroked his chin and looked me up and down.
Just facing him, I felt an indescribable pressure weighing down on me.
I had no way of knowing if he was emitting Killing Intent or simply exuding his presence, as I had no mana.
But judging by Balkan's grim expression, it wasn't anything good.
“You’re the one? The human the Great Lord mentioned.”
He smirked and pointed at me.
“Strange.”
He tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.
His gaze swept over me again.
If his gaze had a physical form, it would have pierced me; it was that sharp.
Then.
“He’s just an ordinary human, isn’t he?”
Whoosh!
A gust of wind swept past, ruffling my hair with a whistling sound.
When I came to my senses, his fist was stopped right in front of my face.
“…”
Shit.
It was so fast that I couldn’t react.
Although I had absorbed a Rune, my body was still that of an ordinary human.
I had no way of reacting to a full-powered punch from a monster who had ascended to the position of Lord with just his fists.
“You’re not dodging?”
He smirked, the corners of his lips curling up.
“Did you dodge knowingly, or did you not even notice?”
“…”
“Should I check again?”
…Again?
I definitely had to block this.
If he punched me for real, my head would explode, and I would die.
But how could I block it?
Should I just kill him?
I wasn't confident I could subdue him.
…Or should I just stop him completely?
Well, it wasn’t a good idea.
That would only provoke his competitive spirit.
Knowing his personality, he would definitely want to fight me properly.
I had to subdue him.
Overwhelmingly, so that he wouldn't even think of trying anything funny.
“….”
With that thought, I extended my right hand.
I muttered in the lowest voice possible.
“Check, you say?”
I reached out and grasped his fist, which was stopped in front of me.
I gripped his fist tightly, as if swallowing it whole, and quietly muttered the activation words.
Acceleration.
Reverse.
And.
“Who’s checking whom?”
Reverse.
The moment the activation words were stacked.
“!!!”
Kalen’s relaxed expression contorted.
Quite spectacularly.
****
Kalen, the Third Lord and Kwonseong.
He was a monster who had risen to his position with his fists alone.
Interesting news had reached his ears.
That the Dark Shadow Society Leader had been killed by a human.
When he first heard the news, Kalen was consumed by the urge to find that human and tear him to shreds.
But then the Great Lord suddenly started protecting him.
She even explicitly ordered him not to hold him accountable.
That piqued his curiosity.
Just what kind of human was he, that that monstrous woman showed such special interest in him?
So, he went to see him.
When he first saw the human, something felt strange.
He didn’t seem to have any mana, or even a trained body, but he felt strangely uncomfortable and uneasy.
So he tested him.
He threw a punch with all his might, but.
“….”
…the human didn’t even flinch.
Did he not react because he knew there was no Killing Intent in his punch, or was he simply too weak to notice?
He needed to check again.
So this time, he intended to throw a punch infused with Killing Intent.
“Check, you say?”
The human muttered something and reached out, grasping his fist. T
hen, he smirked and said,
“Who’s checking whom?”
…And that was it.
There was no reaction.
The hand grasping his fist remained still.
The human simply stared at him, a smirk on his face.
He was starting to get annoyed.
He tried to pull his fist back, but.
“…?”
…it wouldn’t budge.
No matter how much mana he poured in or how much strength he mustered, his fist, trapped in the human’s right hand, wouldn’t move an inch.
He could only hear the creaking sound from within his own hand; the human remained motionless.
“!!!”
The more he struggled, the more intense the pain became.
He felt like his shoulder would be ripped out if he exerted any more force.
“You son of a bitch!”
Bam! Bam! Bam!
He raised his other fist and struck the human’s face repeatedly.
The sheer force of the blows created a chilling sonic boom, the ground shook, and the flat floor caved in like a sinkhole.
He had thrown punches with all his might, but for some reason, they didn't inflict any damage.
It felt like hitting mythril.
No, even mythril would at least dent under his full-powered blows. T
hen what was this human?
He simply stood there, motionless and unfazed, staring back at him. Still with that strange smile on his face.
“Ugh! Argh! You crazy bastard!”
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
He thrashed madly, struggling to free his trapped fist.
His skin tore, and his bones cracked and dislocated, but he didn’t care.
He had long forgotten about saving face.
However.
“!!!”
…the human’s eyes, dark as the abyss, were still fixed on him.