My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 75

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

Hayden. Balanus. A corpse. And the stitched scar across Gai’s chest.
Dein felt the darkness pressing in from all sides, as though the night had no mercy, no end.
Cesare’s hand trembled against his collar. His voice came rough and fractured, fighting through his teeth.
“What are you saying? Who the hell are you? What did you do to Hayden?”
“Must I spell it out? I’m simply using his body as my own….”
Crack!
A dull sound echoed through the Cemetery. Cesare drove his fist forward with murderous force—and blood streamed from the man’s nose, his lip splitting open.
“Brother! Cesare, brother…!”
A different voice poured out—higher, desperate. The man clutched at Cesare’s sleeve, his eyes wide with terror.
“Brother, save me! I’m still in here!”
Cesare’s fist froze mid-air. Hope and confusion flashed across his eyes.
“Hayden…?”
Blood dripped from his knuckles. Silence settled over the Cemetery for a heartbeat. Then Gai burst into laughter.
“Ahaha! Cesare, still so naive, aren’t you?”
The terror vanished from his eyes in an instant. Even bloodied, his face a ruin, Gai was laughing.
Cesare’s neck went taut. He roared.
“Where is Hayden?! Is he really inside you? Tell me the truth!”
“Who knows?”
Gai placed his hand over the stitched scar, then—slowly, savoring every moment—dragged his fingers across his own chest.
“Tell me, is Hayden really in here?”
His voice came in clipped syllables, innocent as a child’s.
“You bastard. You worthless…”
Cesare stared at him with murder in his eyes but made no move to strike again.
As Cesare staggered to his feet, Gai rose as well, wiping blood from his face.
“How obedient. Still as dumb as ever, even after all these years….”
Smack!
Bella drove her fist into Gai’s jaw. When he crashed backward and she stomped down on his chest with her boot, Cesare lurched forward in panic.
“Wait! What if Hayden really is still in there?”
“He’ll survive it.”
Bella’s eyes gleamed with something terrible.
“Hayden won’t mind losing a few teeth.”
As Gai scrambled backward, Bella grabbed his torn shirt and hauled him back, driving her fist down into his face again.
“Aagh, miss! Stop, please stop…!”
“Who’s your miss?”
While the sound of blows echoed through the darkness, Dein watched Cesare’s back.
The broad shoulders seemed diminished somehow. Cesare scrubbed his face roughly, a groan escaping him.
His eyes trembled behind his palms. Jenia turned to Dein, her own expression faltering.
“Master, what does this mean? What happened to Hayden?”
“Not certain, but it appears he’s transferred his soul into Hayden’s body. Or perhaps exchanged hearts.”
“Then Hayden is… dead?”
“…I don’t know.”
Necromancy was not widely known to the common people. What little they knew was only that its practitioners could inhabit the bodies of others.
Bella rose from Gai only after beating him senseless. Arkel approached the sprawled figure.
“Explain exactly what happened. What did you do to my brother?”
Gai’s eyes opened with difficulty, his smile contemptible and cruel.
“Here’s one thing I’ll tell you: if you kill me, you’ll never see Hayden again.”
In Hayden’s face, he laughed. Arkel unclenched his fist, then squeezed it shut again, the tendons flaring along the back of his hand before subsiding.
Jenia crept closer and prodded Gai repeatedly with one of her tentacles.
“I can’t tell if he’s lying or not. Arkel, what do we do?”
“…We can’t kill him.”
“So we just let him go?”
No one answered. Dein rose to his feet, his face expressionless.
“We take him to Balanus.”
“This creature?”
Cesare asked, bewildered. Dein nodded.
“Even if Hayden is dead, his body may be necessary for revival.”
“Is that even possible? The dead can only be raised as Undead.”
Nothing more than corpses, soulless and emotionless, ever rose again. Dein studied his disciples quietly.
“I came back alive. From inside a coffin.”
At those words, the disciples’ eyes widened. Bella covered her mouth, murmuring to herself.
“True enough… if you can revive Hayden the way you do, we might very well need a body.”
“Exactly. I don’t yet know the method, but it’s good to have the vessel in hand. So we’ll take him with us.”
At that, Gai smiled like a fox.
“And if I refuse?”
Dein leveled his blade. Even his gaze as he looked down at Gai held the keenness of a drawn sword. His voice came cold and measured across the space between tombstones, corpses, and steel.
“Dead or alive, you come with me.”
The grave fell silent. Only Gai’s hand twitched. Cemetery soil clung to his fingertips. He regarded Dein as though measuring something.
The sword’s point did not waver. Even as poison ate through it. Gai finally raised both hands in surrender.
“Yes, yes. I’ll walk on my own two feet. Will that suffice?”
Only after hearing that answer did Dein slowly lower his blade. Yet no satisfaction crossed his face.
He had found Hayden. Even if what remained was only a corpse. Would his soul still linger within that vessel? Nothing was certain.
Still, it was enough. He had grasped some trace of him. He had found even fragments of Hayden.
The disciples regarded Dein and Gai with different expressions. Arkel spoke.
“We’ve subdued the soldiers, but we cannot simply flee as things stand. What will you do?”
“We won’t flee. We’ll resolve everything here.”
Dein sheathed his sword. In his pupils reflected the corpse of his disciple. A cold, golden light.
“After that, we return. All of us, to Aspenhelm.”
14. Setting Sail
A lethal atmosphere hung over the Lord’s Office. The Lady of the Estate could barely remain seated in her chair, stealing glances at her husband.
For days the Lord had worn a dark expression, but it paled before this moment.
The Lord said nothing. Yet his face was more cutting than any threat. The Military Captain bowed deeply.
“…Balanus fled afterward. I am without excuse.”
“Because it was an unofficial request, you act like this? And a Domus reaching Silver Rank no less.”
Silver Rank was the stage where one begins to earn recognition even from those without acquaintance.
So he had trusted them. And they brought a false corpse and fled outright. The Lord ground his teeth.
“As of now, Balanus is marked as an enemy of Kalimera. Immediately—”
—Knock, knock.
Just then came an urgent rap at the door. Soon the Butler entered and bowed.
“Lord, Balanus has arrived…!”
“What?”
The news that they had returned twisted his expression. Had they come to apologize? He harbored no thought of forgiveness, but he wanted to spit in their faces.
“Let them in.”
The door opened soundlessly. The man who entered was Dein. His complexion looked somewhat pallid.
The Lord regarded him with a frigid gaze, then his eyes widened. It was because of the person who had entered with Dein.
“I’ve brought him, Lord.”
Dein hurled Gai to the floor. With his wrists bound, the man tumbled with a heavy thud and groaned.
While the Lady’s face brightened at once, the Lord looked between Gai and Dein in turn.
“You attacked my soldiers and fled—or so it should have been?”
“We were tracking him ourselves after learning the corpse was false. The soldiers attacked before we could explain.”
The Military Captain, flustered, started to say something but closed his mouth. It was true they had attacked without hearing an explanation.
The Lord fixed the Military Captain with a sharp look, then turned back to Gai. He seized the Dagger that lay on the table.
“Yes. This is far better than a corpse. The price for trifling with my wife…!”
“My lord! There is a misunderstanding!”
Gai pressed his forehead to the ground, groveling utterly. Not a shred of pride was visible.
The Lord himself was startled. But then he clenched his teeth and advanced.
“A misunderstanding? Go on, speak up. Before I cut out your tongue for the last time.”
“I did meet the Lady, but I never so much as held her hand!”
He looked up at the Lord, his voice wavering. Dein watched with cold eyes. Even knowing it was an act, the performance was flawless.
They had planned this from the beginning. It was Gai’s proposal.
“I did romance the Lady, but there was never anything physical between us, you see?”
“And?”
“I’ll prove it and persuade the Lord. If that fails, well, you can sell me off or whatever.”
He had boasted that he could handle it himself and been brought along. Of course, Dein had not come relying on that alone.
Gai cried out toward the Lord with a desperate face.
“Truly! Lady, we only discussed art together, didn’t we?”
“W-well, yes. He and I…”
“Nonsense! How could I believe such drivel?”
The Dagger in the Lord’s grip gleamed. Gai’s words tumbled faster.
“I never approached the Lady with ulterior motives! I…”
Gai hesitated, then covered his mouth. A pitiful whimper escaped him.
“I am in love with you, Lord!”
“…What?”
The Lord froze in place. So did the Lady of the Estate, the Military Captain, and even Dein.
Dein stared at Gai with bewilderment. Hayden’s face was right there—that face, doing such a thing.
“I approached the Lady of the Estate to grow closer to you, Lord. I harbored no such feelings for the Lady herself…”
Crack!
The Lady of the Estate’s hand connected with Gai’s cheek. Until moments ago she had seemed relieved, but now she was more incensed than anyone present.
“What? So you kept your hands off me, avoided me? You used me?!”
“Oh, please, come now. But I did entertain you, didn’t I? Working so hard as a jester…”
“Shut your mouth!”
The Lady of the Estate struck Gai’s cheek repeatedly. The Lord, who had been standing rigid, suddenly snapped back to awareness and glanced toward the Military Captain.
“Get him out of here! I’ll have him killed!”
The Military Captain escorted the Lady of the Estate from the office. Gai’s face, swollen and flushed crimson, trembled as he sniffled.
The Lord regarded him with hollow eyes. When Gai stared back, the Lord startled and looked away.
Silence settled over the room. The Lord couldn’t find his words—his mind churned with confusion.
From his wife’s reaction, it was clear the two had shared no physical intimacy. In truth, Gai had done no real harm.
There was scant grounds for punishment. As the Lord remained silent, trapped between options, Dein spoke.
“This man is wanted in other regions as well. We would like to take him and conclude the matter.”
“…That’s difficult. Kalimera has suffered damage because of him.”
The losses from the Blockade Order had been substantial. Strictly speaking, Gai bore no responsibility for it, but Dein saw no reason to press that point.
He understood the Lord’s position stemmed from pride. He could not afford to appear to grant Gai’s release empty-handed, not after issuing such orders.
Then the solution was simple: give the Lord something to gain.
“If he were to contribute to Kalimera, would you release him to us?”
The Lord regarded Dein. A flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes. Dein offered a courteous smile.
“I understand the merchant vessels have been attacked at sea of late. The monster attacks continue still, I believe.”
It was the incident that had prompted the Blockade Order. A matter yet unresolved. Dein bowed lightly.
“We would resolve it for you. In exchange, we would request you release this man to us.”

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