I’m Hunting My Enemy - Chapter 4

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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4. An engagement is a matter between two people. (4)

As soon as they left the Mercenary Brokerage, Bendam asked.

“Do you truly believe His Highness the Crown Prince has died?”

“No.”

Ryuie answered without a second thought.

“If that bastard had really died, my engagement would have been broken long ago.”

“That’s true. Even if he tried to escape through death, Lord Rkultu’s breach curse would follow him.”

This fair Rkultu who protected the Empire made it so that choosing death to avoid curses was ineffective.

If that were possible, humans trying to easily break contracts would all try to kill their counterparts.

Rather, when someone in a contract died, the price returned even greater. In short, escaping through death meant having even one’s soul stripped bare.

“But I’m still perfectly fine, aren’t I?”

Ryuie waved her hand. On her elegantly extended hand, only the ring finger curved slightly upward.

Perhaps thinking of the engagement ring that should have been in that spot, Ryuie spoke calmly.

“If it’s true that the Crown Prince’s ring has appeared in the world, he might really be hanging onto life by a thread.”

“Surely not. No matter what, who could possibly drive His Highness the Crown Prince to such a state? If any serious problem had arisen, he would have requested help from the Imperial Court long before.”

“Who knows. The pride of those in power, myself included, works strangely. Being the Crown Prince, it would be even worse.”

Ryuie made a displeased dimple on her chin, making Bendam hope she might be engaging in something called self-reflection.

“Catching prey that’s nearly dead is no fun. Should I leave it alone until it gets lively again after finding it?”

Of course, that wasn’t the case.

Bendam mechanically rephrased Ryuie’s words.

“…I’ll report that we discovered His injured Highness and protected him until his body healed.”

“Good. I’ll decide the extent of the injuries.”

“You will let him live even after you’re done with him, right?”

“…”

“You will, right?”

Ryuie walked away without answering, making Bendam sad.

Some time later. Marco, having arrived at their destination, dramatically raised his arm.

“Right here it is.”

The place Marco had guided them to was far too much like a tent to be called a human dwelling.

Ryuie looked over the building with a critical expression.

“Do even beggars work as mercenaries these days?”

Instead of a roof, torn cloth fluttered about, and the door was riddled with holes as if someone had shot or punched it.

One wall had completely collapsed and been left in ruins.

It was a place too embarrassing for even a passing stray dog to take shelter from rain for one night, let alone humans.

“His skills are definitely solid though. According to people who’ve used him, his appearance running under moonlight is like that of a wild beast…”

“You like beasts, don’t you. What kind of beast-like human would let others give him the name ‘beast’? How embarrassing.”

Marco was greatly flustered.

Beast was actually the restrained version.

Among the villagers, he was actually called the silver shadow that brings bloody storms. When he found out about that, it was changed to beast.

Feeling very awkward at having the village’s taste criticized, Marco made excuses instead.

“Nicknames are originally given by others, so there’s nothing that can be done…”

“I’ll see for myself and give him a new one.”

Ryuie cut him off.

Having arrived, Ryuie, who never waited, swept aside the cloth, making Marco panic.

“Ah! No, you mustn’t!”

Not daring to grab and stop her, Marco only shouted, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Even if someone’s a noble, he’s one who shows no respect at all, so it’s dangerous for the young lady to go in first!”

“What? Why do you leave such a person unchecked? You should report him to the security guards immediately.”

Bendam scolded sternly.

“He is a lawless man, but if you just maintain proper distance, he’s surprisingly helpful.”

Marco answered evasively. Catsy added with interest.

“You’ve been exploiting his ferocity?”

“Yes. Something like that.”

“Even treating him like a guard dog. He’s getting further and further from being a beast.”

Ryuie’s eyes grew cold.

When Ryuie stepped inside first, Marco had no choice but to follow. It seemed his earlier words about danger were just because he didn’t want to go first himself. He looked desperately at Ryuie’s knights, not at Ryuie.

The knights, knowing Ryuie’s temperament of extremely disliking people who got ahead of her during interesting moments, just silently followed.

In the end, it was also Ryuie who first discovered the man while stepping over collapsed bricks and cloth.

Her first impression was, ‘There’s a nest made of white fur.’

But looking closely, it was human hair that had taken the same shape because the person was sleeping curled up in a ball. The hair, quite coarse in texture, stuck out in various directions and rose and fell with his breathing.

Ryuie asked.

“Why is his hair color like that? Is he old?”

“No. He’s a very young man. I don’t know the exact reason, but I suspect it’s some kind of curse.”

“Hmm.”

Rather than pitiful, the sight of him sleeping curled up under the Pierced Ceiling where sunlight shone brightest, not even on a bed, looked ill-tempered.

It made one want to poke at him.

Ryuie, who would have poked him with a cane if she had one, immediately pushed through the pile of stones and advanced.

Crack.

Before she could fully descend, a stone stepped on by Ryuie’s shoe rolled down. The sleeping man immediately reacted to the sound.

As soon as she felt the wind cutting through the air, the man who had been on the ground disappeared. When she came to her senses, he was already perched on one of the Broken Columns.

“Quite nimble, isn’t he?”

Catsy made a brief sound of admiration. Bendam also muttered something like “Indeed, he’s not ordinary.”

Ryuie herself just lifted her chin and earnestly admired the man’s face.

Surprisingly, the man’s face was handsome. No, even ‘handsome’ was somewhat insufficient to describe it.

If not for the large scar across his face, it would have been the kind of appearance an ordinary girl could stare at endlessly, spending her entire day.

His sharp jawline harmonized surprisingly well with his sturdy neckline and eyebrows, and his eyes, which took up a large portion of his face, were distinct with blood-red pupils that seemed to emit his fierce temperament.

‘They’re similar to my eyes.’

Ryuie, who was simply observing as if looking at a work of art, didn’t notice that his expression was somewhat strange.

His eyes were opened far too wide for someone surprised by strangers, and with a rigid expression, he was staring intently only at Ryuie.

By the time Ryuie noticed this, Marco was already waving his arms and shouting.

“Beas… Glem! Calm down! They’re customers!”

His stiffly frozen neck turned with a crack. Marco flinched even at that light sound and hurriedly apologized.

“I didn’t know you were sleeping! Sorry! It hasn’t been long since the last job ended, and I was in a hurry because I wanted to come before you took another job!”

“…”

The one called Glem quickly surveyed the interior. It seemed he finally saw Bendam and Catsy behind Ryuie, as well as the other guards who had gathered in a crowd.

Every time he moved, his greatly puffed up white hair fluttered while standing on end like fur.

“Who are these people.”

Contrary to expectations of a beautiful voice matching his appearance, a somewhat murky and rough voice flowed out.

It did match well with his immediately visible personality though.

“Customers! They’re customers! They want to go to the Swamp!”

“Swamp?”

“The place where they say the Crown Prince’s ghost appears!”

Glem’s straight brow furrowed sharply.

“How long has it been since I told this damn bastard to stop bringing people who want to go there, and he brings them again?”

With the person right in front of him, Marco looked around at Ryuie in great alarm at the rough curses pouring out indiscriminately.

“Watch your language! With such an obviously noble person in front of you!”

“Shut up and get lost with those people!”

“Glem!”

“Contrary to expectations, he understands speech quite well.”

It was Ryuie’s assessment that broke up the argument.

At that moment, Glem and Marco simultaneously turned to look at Ryuie, bewildered by the out-of-context statement.

Ryuie, who had been leisurely fiddling with her fingernails, continued speaking.

“He’s already no different from a beast with a bell around its neck, isn’t he?”

Ryuie flicked her fingertip with a sharp sound and looked up with a sly smile.

“‘Rattle’ would make a good nickname.”

“What?”

“What a wonderful name you’ve given him!”

Catsy’s eager praise left them even more dumbfounded.

‘Rattle?’

Are you really talking about that person with those vicious scars?

Bendam and Marco were both terrified.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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