My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 84

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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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It wasn’t long before a wolf burst from the brush. Its eyes were clouded too.
As the wolf lunged at the Marquis’s Daughter, I rushed forward as well, shouting with deliberate urgency.
“My lady, look out!”
At my cry, everyone on her side turned toward me. All of them wore faces of alarm.
—Crunch!
Just before it could close the distance, I cleaved the wolf clean in half. Fresh blood sprayed across the ground.
No one was watching the bear. No one except Lady.
—Screech!
With a thud, the bear collapsed. The others froze. A crossbow bolt was lodged in the bear’s chest.
Lucky for us—it had struck right where the heart lay. Lady withdrew her crossbow with a satisfied expression.
“My, what a turn of events this has taken! How fortunate that my assistant was there to spare you harm.”
The Marquis’s Daughter was smiling, but her eyes burned bright. She glanced at the wolf’s corpse, then looked at me.
Her gaze held a tangle of gratitude and wariness. After a moment’s hesitation, she spoke.
“……I owe you my life.”
“You honor me overmuch. The others were simply focused on the hunt—ordinarily, one of them would have intercepted it instead.”
Just as I was offering proper deference, the ground trembled. Something was charging toward us.
I didn’t sheathe my sword—I pivoted at once. Boom, boom—it sounded like the earth itself was quaking. And when a killing intent cut through the air like the stench of blood—
—Roooaaarrr!
A gray bear easily three meters tall burst from beyond the brush. This was a different creature entirely from the one we’d just taken down.
I lunged forward in front of Lady and raised my sword.
—Bang!
A sickening crack echoed through my shoulder. The bear’s forepaw came down with such force that my arm trembled. The weight of its swipe was tremendous.
Beyond its sheer size, the killing intent it radiated was far from ordinary. The scars covering its body bore the marks of bladed weapons.
Most beasts flee from humans. But this one had deliberately charged us.
It had tasted human flesh.
This was dangerous. The Black Panther Man clearly recognized it too. He seized the reins in panic.
“My lady! You must leave! This creature is perilous!”
“No, if I bring that down, I win the Hunting Competition Prize. You’re all Gold-rank, aren’t you? You can manage it!”
“But my lady, you cannot hunt it yourself!”
He was right. No matter how skilled the Marquis’s Daughter was with a bow, she was still an ordinary person.
That bear was less a beast and more a Demon Beast—ready to tear a human to shreds at any moment.
Right after I deflected the attack, an Ice Wall rose before me. The guards on both sides began to threaten the bear as well.
Even against our numbers, it didn’t retreat. A creature beyond reason. Lady was no ordinary threat either.
“I won’t be able to bring that down myself, will I?”
There was no thought of fleeing in her tone. Nor in the Marquis’s Daughter’s either. I caught Arkel’s eye with a glance and stepped back.
“On the contrary, Lady. We can certainly help you claim it.”
I signaled to Arkel. As he stepped forward, I helped Lady down from her horse.
“We are Balanus, after all.”
—Crash!
Ice Walls rose up and encircled the bear. Using that opening, Lady loaded her crossbow. The bolts embedded themselves in the bear’s abdomen and shin.
Our job was to pin its legs; Lady would finish it with her shots. The problem was the Marquis’s Daughter—who now drew her bowstring.
—Twang!
Each time, Arkel conjured an Ice Wall. The sound of arrows ricocheting pierced the air. Along with it, the sound of something vaporizing.
—Hissssss……!
The ice barrier was melting. The Ice Wall dispersed into vapor and liquid, flowing away.
I heard someone chanting an Incantation.
It was the Black Panther Man. He was a Fire Magic user. Every time Arkel conjured an Ice Wall, he was rapidly melting it.
He was melting faster than Arkel could freeze. In terms of raw power, he held the advantage.
He led the Gold-rank guild—not an opponent to underestimate. The ground rapidly froze and thawed, froze and thawed in cycles.
Lady needed to finish this as quickly as possible. That’s when I heard her troubled voice.
“Dein, I’m out of crossbow bolts! Fall back! You’ll all be injured!”
“It’s fine. Use this instead.”
I pressed the pistol into Lady’s hands. It was something Bella had prepared in advance.
「In the end, Lady has to make the kill herself—having a powerful weapon is an advantage. The gun is perfect for this.」
Lady looked deeply uncomfortable. She’d set down the crossbow, but her grip on the pistol was awkward.
“How do I use this?”
“Allow me to show you.”
I positioned myself behind Lady, then placed my hands over hers on the grip. I felt her stiffen.
I’d learned from Bella how to fire a gun. I guided Lady’s index finger to the trigger, steadied her trembling aim, and pointed it at the bear.
―Roooaarrr!
The bear had already taken several arrows. There wasn’t much left. I steadied my hands and whispered to Lady.
“Pull the trigger. Keep pulling until it falls.”
―Bang!
A sharp gunshot tore through the air. I felt people startle and turn around at the sound. Lady squeezed the trigger again and again.
―Bang, bang, bang!
The destructive power was far greater than the crossbow. I could feel it just from the recoil transmitted through my hands.
Each time a bullet struck home, blood and flesh scattered. And yet the beast still held on—
―Guurgh……!
The fourth bullet drove in, and finally it collapsed. My ears were ringing from the gunshots as people stood frozen.
The silence broke to the sound of applause. Gai’s cheerful voice came with it.
“Wow, just as I expected of you, Lady! You handle even an unfamiliar weapon beautifully!”
She snapped back to attention. Flustered, she pulled away from me and spoke in a rush.
“That was, uh, incredible. Thank you, Dein. I couldn’t have done it without you!”
The Marquis’s Daughter still looked dazed. She glanced at the fallen bear and the wounded people, then turned her attention away.
The Black Panther Man slipped away quietly. In terms of skill alone, he was on par with Arkel—perhaps even superior. It seemed best we not cross paths again.
Now only we remained in the forest. Lady gazed at the fallen bear with fascination, turning the pistol over in her hands.
“This pistol is remarkable. I’d like to buy one—what’s the price?”
“We don’t exactly sell them. It’s a personal possession of one of our members, but…….”
Lady extended the pistol to me with a disappointed look. I pressed it back into her hands.
“If you’d like it, I’d be honored to give it to you.”
“Really? Is that alright?”
Lady’s face brightened at once. She looked like a child receiving a gift.
“Thank you so much, Dein! This is far better than the crossbow.”
She hurried over to her guards, showing them the pistol with pride. As she boasted about it, Gai leaned close and whispered to me.
“Are you sure you can just give that away? Bella’s going to be furious.”
“Bella told me to give it to her.”
I’d anticipated this. So had Bella.
《That said, once Lady sees the pistol, she won’t give it back. It’s valuable even if we have spares.》
《It doesn’t matter. Gaining Lady’s favor and proving Balanus’s competence is cheap at the price of one pistol.》
Bella had smiled as she said this—the same smile I’d seen in the gambling house.
《Besides, it’s bait. You can’t use a pistol without bullets. If she likes it, she’ll have no choice but to keep coming back to us.》
We had only two bullets remaining. Without ammunition, the pistol was nothing but an ornament.
At present, only Bella could manufacture bullets. And she could set the price however she wished.
Lady smiled brightly at the fallen bear.
“Then I should head back. I’m worried about Genevieve. I’ll leave the carcass to you.”
After Lady and her guards departed, Arkel stared down at the bear’s heavy corpse.
“I wish Cesare were here.”
“We’ll manage if we load it onto the cart. Come on, let’s move it together. Gai, you help too.”
“I’m exhausted, sir. I’m the one who should be loaded onto the cart.”
He’d spent a lot of magical energy; his complexion was indeed poor. I grabbed the back of Gai’s neck.
“You can rest on the cart once the bear’s loaded. Now get moving.”
As Gai gestured in protest, I turned around. A faint scream echoed from beyond the trees.
Lady.
The moment I heard it, Arkel and I bolted. But she had guards—what could have happened?
We crashed through the brush and spotted Lady in the distance. She lay collapsed, apparently unconscious.
There was no enemy, no beast. Only her guards surrounding her.
They were stuffing her limp body into a large sack. Suddenly, words from before our departure came back to me.
《Genevieve is my baby. How could I leave her behind? I always bring her with me.》
《During the hunt, if she’s stimulated, she becomes difficult to control.》
Normally she brought the child along, but this time we’d specifically discouraged it. Had this been planned from the start?
As I accelerated, the guards spotted us. They mounted their horses and began to flee.
A human couldn’t match the speed of a horse. The distance between us widened.
We came to a stop. Arkel gasped for breath as he spoke.
“We could pursue them, but they’ll only get further away. What should we do?”
There were no horses nearby, obviously. Then I saw Gai in the distance, running toward us, panting.
“What in the world happened? I hate all this sweating.”
“Lady’s been kidnapped. They’re on horseback, heading for the Forest Boundary.”
“What? Those bastards got us first.”
What did they intend to do with her? Gai leaned against a tree, his exhausted face grim.
“But what do we do now? Without horses, we’ll never catch up to them.”
“There’s something better than horses.”
I stared at Gai. He blinked several times, then let out a long, weary sigh.
“Sigh. I’d better be getting hazard pay for this, you know?”
* * *
Hoofbeats echoed through the forest. Lady’s escorts were urging their mounts forward with brutal urgency, pressing hard against the animals’ flanks.
In the sack, Lady hung limp as a corpse. They didn’t stop until they’d reached the Forest Boundary.
“Those men saw us back there, sir.”
“I know.”
The lead escort swept his gaze across his companions. His eyes were utterly calm. That look was answer enough—they all nodded in silent understanding.
“Understood. Once we’ve delivered the lady, we’ll handle the cleanup.”
Then, one by one, they turned to look back. Something was approaching. Fast.
Faster than a horse—no, faster than any horse could run. And heavy. The escort’s eyes widened.
“Is that a bear?!”
What came hurtling toward them, dragging a cart, was unmistakably a bear. The same bear that Lady’s gun had brought down.
It charged forward with a roar, wild and mad.

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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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