Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 480

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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 480
Fire. A Crash
So damn it, this is completely messed up.
Where did things go wrong? Was it because I didn’t ask that old man I saw last for directions?
No, that’s not it. Before that, Akorelra, who was absorbed in researching the new mana amplifier, took two injections in a row. They said they’d drop me at the outskirts of Bariel, but instead they threw me into the middle of nowhere—not even near the border. Is this a joke? Even with signposts, people get lost here, so how does this make sense?
Hmm, thinking about it more, that’s not quite right either. Akorelra got hit with the mana amplifier because the Magic Ministry was understaffed, so fundamentally it’s the fault of the mages torn between north and south.
Huh? If I think about it that way, then damn it, in the end it’s Ian’s fault. The Magic Ministry fell apart after Ian disappeared. And I’m out here searching for Ian right now anyway, aren’t I?
“That’s it! It’s Ian’s fault! This bastard!”
Berik concluded that getting lost was entirely Ian’s doing and, consumed by rage, brought his fist down on the nearest tree.
Crash!
With a tremendous boom, black leaves scattered down. The quiet forest erupted into chaos. Berik looked around again.
‘…I’m screwed.’
The moment I paused to think, I couldn’t even remember which direction I’d been walking.
This forest was peculiar—sunlight barely penetrated it. It was difficult to distinguish east from west, and since few people came here, there wasn’t even a proper path.
Berik, resigned to his fate, sat down and pulled out some dried meat to chew on.
“Once I get out of here, I should be able to find my way easily enough, but it’s not simple.”
I boasted that I could make a quick trip to Tooluun, but here I am from the start in this mess. At least I came alone. If Jairot had been with me, I would’ve exploded from all the teasing and nagging.
Berik lay sprawled out, gazing up at the sunlight filtering gently through the leaves. The fortunate thing was that it was still daytime.
‘Still, I’ll see Ian soon enough, so let me just eat this and move. Whether right or left, I need to pick one direction and go. What was her name again? Roel? Crazy. She’s exactly like Ian. Reminds me of when Ian and I went to the Great Desert. Back then, both of us were in real trouble.’
Humming a little tune, Berik wiggled his toes and took a brief rest. It was because of Romandro’s advice—if you get lost, don’t panic; stop and calm yourself first.
Well, it seemed to be working fairly well.
Rustle.
This way, I could even sense unexpected footsteps.
Berik whipped his head around at the sound of footsteps behind him. A ragged man appeared upside down in his vision. He held what looked like a short sword or some kind of metal in each hand, but Berik assumed the man was simply startled.
“A person. Nice to meet you.”
“Y-yes, ah, w-welcome.”
“Do you live around here?”
The man watched Berik carefully. When he’d been lying down, it wasn’t so obvious, but now that he stood up, his massive frame became apparent.
And what was that black sword at his side? He wore just ordinary black cloth, but his backpack looked quite full and appetizing.
‘My luck is good. Every time I come to the forest, I meet outsiders.’
“Well, yes, but who are you? I haven’t seen you before.”
“You wouldn’t have. I’m just passing through, but I’ve gotten lost. Could you help me out? I’m poorly paid for my abilities, so I don’t have much, but I can repay you with a gold coin.”
“A-a gold coin?”
“…? What? A gold coin.”
“What?!”
The man felt his heart pounding. There are gold coins in that bag. And from the way he’s talking, quite a lot of them!
After a lifetime of working like a dog under Landroe, I’d never once seen those brilliant golden coins—but they must be filling that bag. The man steadied his trembling voice and nodded.
“Very well. But please lead the way. My eyes aren’t good, so my steps are slow.”
“Yet you managed to enter the forest just fine.”
“Take the left path and you’ll be fine.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Relieved to find someone passing by, Berik readily took the lead, while the man carefully observed his retreating figure and pondered.
Dried meat—he wanted some too. What should he do? Stab him in the nape of the neck right away? No, the height difference was too great; he might fail. From the looks of it, the man seemed like a wandering mercenary, so a direct approach would be disastrous.
Then push him off the cliff? That wouldn’t work either! The bag would fall with him! What to do? What to do?
“Hey.”
“…Yes?!”
While the man muttered to himself in contemplation, Berik sensed something and stopped. Had he been caught? The man quietly drew a dagger from behind his back, and Berik stared at him intently.
“Are there residents in this forest?”
“H-here?”
“I keep feeling an odd gaze.”
“Ah….”
Ah, it wasn’t about him. The man returned the dagger to its sheath and laughed.
“There are Moles living around here.”
“Moles? There were such things in Bariel?”
“Outsiders don’t know much about them. Even we who live nearby don’t see them often. They’re always holed up in their tunnels, tapping and chiseling and cutting at something all day… Phew. Honestly, I don’t know what they’re doing. Occasionally they bring back something useful, that’s all.”
Bring back, not steal, of course. The man cleared his throat and urged Berik to keep walking.
After walking for some time, Berik turned around as if curious about something again, when something unexpected happened.
Crash!
“Aaaah!”
“Huh?”
The man shoved Berik’s back with all his might?
Before confusion could settle in, Berik felt the ground give way beneath him, and in an instant, he tumbled into a pit several meters deep.
Boom!
“Ha, haha! Aha!”
“Damn. Ouch. My ass is killing me.”
“Well, whoever you are, you had bad luck. If you don’t want to rot to death in this pit, hand over the bag. Then I’ll lower you a plank or two.”
Berik rubbed his rear end repeatedly, his face contorted. What was this bastard saying? Did I just fall for this crude trap? A pit this shabby?
“I’ve never met anyone as stupid as me.”
“What, what? I can’t hear you!”
“If you can’t hear, then what the hell do you want me to do!”
“Hardly anyone passes through here. If you don’t want to die, do as I say. Looks like you’ll be fine without that backpack.”
“Why do you get to decide that?”
“Fine. Then I’ll come back after you’re dead.”
First, he’d lull him into a false sense of security, then come back tomorrow with proper preparations. He had to steal the food from the backpack before that bastard ate it all. Hot oil, sharp spears, arrows—what would work best? As the man turned with a snicker.
Whoosh!
Berik shot up from the pit with incredible lightness. Past the ground, reaching all the way to the top of that tall tree.
The man thought a bird had flown in for a moment, but then he saw Berik’s red hair fluttering in mid-air and gasped sharply.
Boom!
“Who had bad luck?”
“Aaaah!”
Crack!
The man wasn’t even worth drawing a blade for. Berik drove his knee down onto the man’s crown, and with a single blow, I could render him unconscious.
As the man toppled and rolled down the hillside, Berik followed all the way, kicking him relentlessly.
“You dare covet my meat?”
Thud!
“You’re done for today, you bastard. I was bored out of my mind being lost anyway, so this is actually fun.”
In that moment, I realized I’d truly lost my way now, but what did it matter? The man had tried to kill me, and now he was unconscious. He had no further use. Better to beat him senseless and relieve some stress.
Just as Berik was rolling up his sleeves to throw a punch after the kicks—
Tap, tap.
“Huh?”
Someone tapped Berik’s shoulder lightly. I reflexively turned my head, and stars sparkled before my eyes.
Clang!
“…?!”
With a clear ringing sound, Berik’s vision shook. Down, down, slowly descending, until I found myself face-to-face with the man I’d been beating. I’d been knocked over sideways.
Unlike that clear sound, what was this heavy attack? It hurt worse than when I got genuinely clobbered on the back of the head by old Jairot.
“What in blazes are you all doing in our forest!”
Berik blinked slowly. My vision grew increasingly blurred, but what appeared directly before me remained clear.
“…No, damn it. Why is a mole wearing human clothes?”
Was that the Mole tribe he mentioned earlier? I felt a gaze on me, and there it was, watching me with those button-hole eyes. The appearance was absolutely ridiculous.
Neither realizing they found each other strange, Berik let out a hollow laugh.
“What did you hit me with? I don’t usually go down in one shot.”
“Why did you enter the forest?”
“Don’t ask, you mole bastard.”
The Dera Tribe member’s whiskers trembled at the blatant insult as he gripped his hammer again. Who did this peculiar-faced creature think he was calling a mole bastard? Unbelievable!
As he exerted force, muscles bulged along the short, stocky Dera Tribe member’s arms.
“Hell, damn it.”
“Curious about what I hit you with? Let me show you again.”
Whoosh.
And with all his might, he brought the hammer down on Berik’s temple.
Clang—!
* * *
“He’s late today. Did he find something?”
“Who knows. He always came back before dinner. If he doesn’t, we’ll have to go hungry until morning.”
“Something’s off. I think it’s one of two things. Either he found something worth a good haul and took off, or he was unlucky enough to get caught in a trap.”
“But didn’t he say he doesn’t disarm traps? We’ve never even caught those moles before.”
“Disarming itself is work and trouble. If we leave it, some wild beast will get caught instead, so what.”
After finishing his meal, Landroe strolled through the yard and overheard his subordinates’ murmuring.
“Hot still hasn’t come back?”
“Yes? Ah, Master. That’s correct.”
“Did he go to Razasan?”
“Yes, yes. I sent someone out at first light, but there’s been no word.”
Landroe rubbed the few whiskers on his chin, twisting them absently. Something had clearly happened, but he was deliberating whether it would be worthwhile to go searching.
The mountains were dangerous at night. The Mole Tribe could attack at any moment. Yet acquiring a new slave as stupid but stubbornly obedient as Hot was a tedious affair. And if the wretch had met his end at the hands of the Mole Tribe….
‘For now, cutting Dryads would be convenient.’
Because of the notorious Laza Mountain, the surrounding lands had no owner. Despite being a strategic location facing the center, the roads were impassable and the terrain too treacherous to yield economic profit.
Above all, the habitation of Dryads and the Dera Tribe comprised a significant portion of the mountain’s ill repute, which deterred even neighboring lords from claiming the land. They reasoned it better to leave it vacant than to seize it only to pay taxes on it.
‘All the better for me.’
I could live forming a settlement in a place no one cared about. Landroe wiped the grease from his lips and issued orders to his subordinates.
“When the sun rises, we all head to the mountain.”
“Pardon? To the mountain? Us too?”
“Prepare large sacks.”
Ian, watching this scene through the gaps in the trees, could now transform his suspicion into certainty—he was indeed near Laza Mountain.
I clutched my aching stomach and lay down upon the hay pile. I had never understood Berik, who stuffed food into his mouth every single day, but now I was beginning to grasp it. This was the constant torment Gera had endured. No wonder he ate so much.
‘…I wonder how Berik is faring.’
Clang!
“Huh?”
Suddenly, a clear metallic sound rang out, and I turned my head. But all I could see were crows flying away with vigor.
“…?”
It seemed I had misheard the sound of the crows.

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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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