Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 105

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 105. Traces of Annihilation
-Pardon me, but are you busy at the moment?
“…?”
Berik’s eyes continued to blink rapidly. That damned dog, panting and grinning widely up at me. Did that mutt just speak?
“Ha, that’s ridiculous. I’ve lost it. I must have gone mad from sheer boredom. Seriously, this is absurd.”
Berik chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. But when he heard the voice again, he snapped to attention and turned around.
-I was speaking to you. If you don’t mind, could you spare some time? Hmm. You certainly have a distinctive appearance, man.
The dog remained sitting obediently, looking up at Berik.
‘Is this bastard insulting my looks right now?’
Berik rolled only his eyes, trying to locate where the voice was coming from. But everything was snow, and with so much terrain to hide in, it wasn’t easy.
Tap!
The friendly dog sensed something strange in Berik’s gaze. It began backing away slowly, then suddenly bolted. Berik reflexively gave chase.
Woof! Woof woof!
“Tch, so the mutt can bark too. What are you?”
Woof!
Ian was backing the carriage when he heard the commotion and frowned. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of trouble Berik was causing. In the distance, that distinctive red hair flying about wildly caught his eye.
“Berik!”
“Ian! Help me catch this damn dog!”
“Why are you chasing the dog!”
“This mutt talks. But it’s got a real attitude problem!”
The way he was running around causing a scene seemed worse than the dog itself. Ian raised his eyebrows at Romandro and his subordinates as a sign to ignore him.
“I have no idea what he’s doing.”
“Leave him be. How much energy can he possibly have?”
Romandro laughed, defending Berik. While Berik played tag with the dog, the subordinates finished turning the carriages around and prepared for departure.
“Lord Ian. Since we’re stopped anyway, would it be alright if we finished checking the wheels? The snow is more slippery than expected.”
“The horses could use more rest as well.”
Ian checked his watch and readily agreed. Even accounting for the early sunset in winter, they had plenty of time. Even if they backtracked a bit, they would arrive in Carenna by evening.
“Very well. We don’t have far to go anyway.”
“By the way, could that really be a bandit’s den? For something like that, isn’t it too close to Carenna? It’s so exposed that the guards there wouldn’t just leave it alone.”
The coachman, who had been lighting a cigarette, glanced toward the village and asked. His point was reasonable. But since avoiding the worst-case scenario took priority, Ian didn’t reconsider his decision.
“We’ll look into that once we reach Carenna.”
“Got it! You mutt!”
Squeak.
Just then, Berik shouted, holding a white bundle in one hand.
“Ian. Look at this! This dog can talk!”
The others who were resting paid no attention, and neither did Ian. That is, until Berik shoved the dog right in front of his face.
The dog looked at Ian with frightened eyes.
“Berik. Say something that makes sense.”
“Why? Magic and all that makes sense, but there’s no such thing as a talking dog, right? I’m telling you it’s real. It asked me if I had time.”
Hmm. The way he said it so firmly, it doesn’t seem like a joke. Either I’m hearing things, or it’s actually true….
“Speak, then.”
Neigh.
I locked eyes with the dog seriously and muttered something. Then Romandro, who had been watching from the side, burst into laughter despite himself. Berik was one thing, but even I was doing this—it must have been quite the spectacle.
“Sorry about that. Ahem. Ah, you there. Yes, yes. Give me a cigarette too, would you?”
When I looked at him, Romandro pretended not to notice and fled toward his subordinates. The dog merely panted, its tail wagging back and forth.
“Don’t waste energy on pointless things. Release it at once.”
“Boy, I’m serious. This one’s hilarious. I’m half tempted to just swallow it whole.”
As Berik muttered with a puzzled expression, the dog’s face went rigid with shock. The moment I noticed it, the dog bit the back of Berik’s hand.
Snap!
“Ow!”
Pitter-patter!
And it bolted up the hillside with all its might. While Berik crouched down, swallowing his pain, I calmly tracked the dog’s retreating form with my gaze.
-Disrespectful wretches! I misjudged your people! They felt like beings of honor! Bah, ptooey ptooey! Ptooey!
“Look! That bastard’s talking!”
Even I was startled, my lips parting slightly. The sight of that small creature shouting so boldly was rather adorable. At the commotion, Romandro and his subordinates glanced over, but by then the dog had already vanished.
“What was that just now? Did that dog actually speak?”
“Ahahaha! You certainly have a sense of humor, Romandro.”
“Well then. Shall we depart soon?”
“Giddyup! I’d love to hurry on and get some proper rest.”
While everyone busied themselves with preparations, Berik and I stood staring blankly at each other, tilting our heads in confusion.
“What in the world just happened?”
“If you don’t know, how would I? Damn, it bit me good.”
“This is rather perplexing.”
A non-human race? Or perhaps a divine beast?
But it seemed far too insignificant for a divine beast.
If it was neither, it could have been a demon, though encountering one in the inland regions of Bariel in this era was exceedingly rare.
“There’s no way to know.”
The moment I was about to board the carriage, I sensed something from behind and looked back up the hill. Berik brushed off his hands and followed my gaze, turning his head.
“What is it?”
“There seems to be someone there. You don’t sense it?”
“That damned mutt—it’s still here!?”
“Enough. Let’s go. The wind is growing stronger.”
I pushed Berik toward the carriage and boarded. As the procession turned around and retraced its path, I remained on high alert. Romandro, sensing the shift in my mood, asked with concern.
“What’s wrong? Are you unwell?”
“No, sir. It’s just that I’ve heard bandits frequent this area, so I’m a bit on edge.”
Whinny!
Clop-clop-clop!
The long procession of carriages gradually disappeared into the distance. Dark figures hidden in the forest emerged and followed in the shadow of the departing carriages.
* * *
As the coachman had said, by the time the sun set, I had arrived in Karenna. A quiet, unremarkable small city. The residents who had been finishing their day paused to watch my carriage procession pass through.
“If this were Bratz, we’d have had all sorts of trouble with invaders. It’s quiet here.”
“Since we’re closer to the inland, we don’t need to worry about foreign incursions. Bandits wouldn’t be dragging carriages in here either.”
Romandro glanced at Berik’s hand and clicked his tongue.
“Anyway, is that alright?”
“My hand? It’s nothing serious.”
“Then why did you grab that passing dog so eagerly?”
“That wasn’t just some passing dog! It was a talking dog!”
Berik had a point. No matter how much I thought about it, it was absurd. I’d never seen a beast speak human language before, but beyond its soft-looking appearance, its voice and manner of speech were shockingly jarring.
“Could it be some form of sorcery?”
“Who knows. It’s possible, but there’s no way a sorcerer would be in such a small town…”
Actually, there could be.
Ian, a mana user, was stationed at the frontline border fighting the Frontier tribes, so what’s a sorcerer compared to that?
Screeeech!
“We’ve arrived, Ian.”
“Good work. Unload the luggage and get some proper rest today.”
“Goodness, everyone’s worked hard.”
“Oh! Are you planning to stay at the inn tonight?”
“Are you the proprietor? We have quite a lot of carriages and baggage.”
“Welcome! Just a moment!”
The woman who had been sweeping in front of the inn hurried inside and returned with her staff.
“The horses are sensitive, so I’d prefer they not be mixed together.”
“Fortunately, we have no other guests at the moment, so we should be able to accommodate everyone. This way, please.”
While my subordinates tended to the horses and carriages, I entered the inn and filled out the register. The paper was clean, suggesting it had been blank for several days.
“It seems guests are rare in winter.”
“Yes, that’s right. Well, truth be told, business isn’t particularly good even in pleasant weather. There’s nothing much to see or eat here. We occasionally had travelers passing through like yourselves, but that stopped completely after rumors of bandits appeared. Will you be staying just one night?”
“That’s right.”
The innkeeper examined the register with a hollow laugh. Twenty horses, ten carriages, nearly a dozen people, and considerable luggage to store…
“That will be one gold coin, including meals and bathwater.”
The price seemed steeper than expected, but this was the only place in town where my entire party could stay together. Otherwise, we’d have to scatter, and it was better to spend gold coins than deal with that inconvenience.
And since we were staying anyway, it was worth receiving the best treatment.
Clink.
I readily produced two gold coins and handed them over. The proprietor’s face brightened as she bowed deeply in gratitude.
“Oh my! I’ll do my very best to serve you!”
“It’s cold, so bring plenty of firewood.”
“Of course! Shall I heat the bathwater right away?”
“That would be appreciated.”
“I want food! Food! I’m hungry!”
“Yes, yes. Just wait a moment and I’ll have it ready. This way, please. Oh, only two rooms have attached lavatories. How would you like to arrange that?”
As the proprietor climbed the stairs, I turned to Romandro and nodded.
“I’ll share with Berik. Please rest comfortably, Romandro.”
“Oh my, is that alright? Thank you.”
“Don’t I have a say in this? I wanted to use it alone.”
“Is that so? The stable is empty if you go there.”
“…”
“This way! Mind the stairs!”
Creak.
The room was old but immaculate. The scent of dry firewood mingled with cheap soap, and the lighting was half-broken, casting the interior in shadow. Yet it was all the more cozy for it, warm, and above all, I was grateful for the bed itself. For the past several days, we had all slept on cold snow.
“Yes!”
Berik leaped onto the bed and rolled about gleefully. Once we unpacked our belongings haphazardly, the innkeeper quickly brought refreshments.
“If it suits you, please have something light to ease your hunger before dinner.”
“Thank you.”
“No, we should be thanking you. I thought we’d be sucking our fingers starting this month.”
I accepted the tray and asked.
“Has Haiman suspended operations?”
“The bank, sir?”
“Yes. I heard they stopped operating in Karenna, Longin, and Zilkup, but I’m not sure about the current situation.”
“They closed entirely, but now only Longin operates on reduced hours. People from here and Zilkup have to go there for business. It’s closer, and the bandits haven’t been completely eliminated yet.”
“Still?”
What are the guards doing? Though it’s a small city, three areas were affected. Surely they should have eradicated the root of the problem by now.
“On the way here, I saw a village not marked on the map. We thought it was the bandits’ encampment.”
At my words, the innkeeper hesitated. As if recalling something from long ago.
“Ah. You mean Danil.”
“Danil?”
“Yes. It won’t be marked on recent maps. Everyone in the village died several years ago, so it was abandoned. Since demolishing it is such trouble, we’ve just left it as is.”
Since it was a map for travelers, there was no reason to mark an abandoned village. I frowned and sighed.
“Everyone died? What happened?”
“I’m not certain of the exact cause, but they were all lying down as if asleep when they died. It was quite a commotion. Everyone from this village went there to drag out the bodies. An investigator came from the Imperial Palace, and… what was it they said? Mass food poisoning, I think?”
At the innkeeper’s words, Berik, who had been sprawled out, lifted his head.
“…Does that make sense?”
“If the Imperial Palace says so, then that must be it. Since someone from the Magic Department came down, the investigation itself must have been thorough.”

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