My Villains Episode 029
8. The Mill and the Undertaker (3)
The happy hour came to an end with a sudden roar. It sounded like a wooden door being smashed.
A group of people approached the barn with a buzz of popularity.
Oh, what kind of babies are they? All in all, now!
I swallowed my curse and stood up, gently pushing Daria away.
“Hueup Poi?”
“Who is coming? There are several people.”
At my words, Daria quickly regained focus and wiped her lips with her sleeve.
“Aren’t they the people who came to the bar mill?”
“well.”
Feeling a bit ominous, I picked up the Pulse and Buckler.
He didn’t have a helmet and breastplate, but he was confident enough to deal with a local gangster.
…You have the confidence to deal with it? Hit all the times with a pulse? Just hitting the goal.
Since graduating from high school, I have lived my whole life without eating a week. How can I, being such a model citizen, adapt so well to this dog-like world? I am deeply moved.
While I was thinking about that, a muffled noise came closer.
“Hey isn’t it? Is this right?”
“Looks like it’s over there.”
“Are you sure it’s just the two of you?”
“Oh, that’s right, man.”
After a while, six or seven men appeared in front of the barn.
“Oh, really, there are only two of them.”
“The armor looks pretty good too, doesn’t it?”
“Right? These bastards don’t believe it!”
The men who appeared – no, in fact, they were boys in their late teens, which would be awkward to call a man.
They were armed with long spears and heavy axes, a kind of bill polearm with large blades that did not suit their sloppy attire.
But spears and bills are weapons only used by soldiers, right? Where did the neighborhood bullies get those things?
Anyway, this damn city is a real piece of shit. I can’t go anywhere safe.
“Po Poi…”
“It’s okay.”
As I reassured Daria and stepped forward, they started chattering among themselves.
“But will it be okay? That bastard looks like a mercenary-”
“You bastard, you bastard?”
“Hey hey. Look at the woman behind you.”
“Wow- Mr. Was there a girl like that in this town? Let’s go play for a while, Rick.”
A skinny guy licked his lips, and the guy called Rick glanced at Daria and swallowed in response.
“I’m craving it, but- Oh no. You have to jump out before the guards chase you.”
“Can’t I catch it? If you look at a large group of mercenaries, they also have maids who wash dishes and do laundry.”
“…okay? Is that so?”
I could guess what kind of people they were. It seems that the vain idiots are planning to steal weapons and flee out of the city.
Although they are like neighborhood bullies, we had to be careful as long as we had heavy military weapons in our hands. Even if I just put weight on it and swing it, my limbs would fly off.
I slightly loosened my wrists and raised my buckler and pulse to prepare for a fight.
Then the guys who were chatting with each other summed up and shut their mouths.
“…What, let’s try it? Why don’t you just quietly leave your money and women behind?”
“Rick. Swords and armor too.”
“Yes, pass all the swords and armor.”
The guy who seemed to be the leader of the gang raised his eyebrows and lowered his voice. That’s right, he was a kid with a lot of pimples on his face.
Thanks to the experience of fighting the ferocious warriors in iron masks, these idiots seemed ridiculous.
So I smiled and opened my mouth.
“Don’t talk bullshit, you bastards.”
“…a bastard’s bastard?”
“okay. Don’t get hit with a knife while acting like a guest, go home and drink your mother’s milk.”
As I spoke in a pleasant tone, their faces contorted in a grim manner.
“…Ha, this is crazy. Do you know how to be scared if you bluff? This rice cake stick is big.”
Looking at them, it didn’t seem like they would break their momentum easily. I wonder if three or four of them will come to their senses only after the limbs fly away.
I wanted to kick them out because they were young people, but I couldn’t help it.
The moment they were about to draw a pulse on their palms to use the skill, someone appeared from behind them and shouted.
“for a moment! Young people, pause!”
…what?
The one who appeared shouting that was an old man wearing a black coat and a wide-brimmed black hat.
To describe the old man-
he had the impression of an old gentleman who was more suited to the modern era than the medieval era. Should I say it’s an atmosphere where you feel like you’re about to take out a pocket watch from your pocket at any moment? Even wearing single-eyed glasses, I didn’t seem to feel any discomfort.
The outfit looked simple at first glance, but the tunic underneath was glossy and looked quite luxurious. The leather shoes and coat sleeves had some dirt on them, but the rest was clean as if they had just been washed.
He was of normal build, but his back was erect and he did not use a cane. In addition, his voice was quite large, and he looked very correct for his age.
Farani’s shaved beard was also impressive, but what caught the eye more than that was the two eyes that could be seen through the deep wrinkles. Her deep blue eyes seemed to harbor a vertigo befitting her age.
and decisively.
I wasn’t familiar with that face.
“for a moment-! Young people, pause!”
Unlike me, who looked carefully at the suddenly appeared old man, the young bullies only looked back and spat out swear words.
“what? This old man.”
“If you don’t want to get hurt, go away.”
These bastards have no respect for the old man. As a Confucian worm, I can’t just leave it alone.
As
I was about to swear at them, the old man in the black hat waved his hand and burst into laughter.
“Hey, wait a minute. Wait a minute.”
“Oh what? Don’t bother and get out of here, old man.”
“I’d love to… but I’m worried about you guys.”
“What bullshit? What are you worried about?”
The boys frowned and glared at him, but the old man still smiled with a calm expression.
“Everyone knows that there was a public execution yesterday, right? That one of the executioners was beaten to death there?”
Oh I know this story too. I heard from Daria on the way.
Horrible as it seems to me—decapitation was one of the greatest spectacles in the world.
The reason… I don’t know. Because it’s an opportunity to feel that security has been restored, albeit a little bit? Or because towels and bread soaked in the blood of executed prisoners were sold at high prices?
what. Whatever the reason, there was a beheading execution yesterday, and thanks to that, a huge crowd gathered in the plaza. In front of the crowd, a young executioner made a mistake.
It was not possible to cut the death row inmate’s throat at once. An experienced executioner would have done it calmly, but the young man did not.
He hurriedly swung the decapitation sword again, and this time he struck down the condemned man’s arm. The crowd who witnessed this were outraged.
It was because of the superstition that if the head was not cut in one blow, the soul of the condemned prisoner would hold a grudge and bring bad luck. However, because they failed to cut their heads twice, they thought that a great disaster would come.
The enraged mob immediately dragged the young executioner down and blinded him. He died after being beaten for a long time.
…I heard the story, but I didn’t know where to tackle it. Is it really a fucking world?
anyway. The bullies looked into each other’s eyes to see if they knew this story, and then asked the old man.
“however. what is that?”
Then the old man lowered his voice and continued talking.
“Panis-kun, who had been beaten up, was brought here, and it was right there! Yes, right where you are standing. I stopped breathing there.”
“You crazy old man. What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”
“Listen. Mr. Panis was due to see his child next month. But since he died so pointlessly, how deep must his resentment be? That’s why Panis-kun’s ghost is still roaming around here. To find someone to vent their anger on.”
Despite the old man’s bluff, the bullies only snorted and growled.
“Do you think we are the old man’s grandchildren? Did you think that if I told you a scary story, I would ruin it while trembling?”
“Oh, of course not. No matter how old I am, I wouldn’t do such a thing with grown men. Wouldn’t it be nice to give you a warning, though?”
“What warning?”
The old man’s gaze, which was on them, slowly moved upward. Then he pointed his finger over the heads of the bullies and whispered.
“Look above your heads.”
“Above your head?”
They followed the old man’s hand and raised their heads. Then, his face went pale.
Fire.
Blue flames were wandering in the air as if staggering aimlessly. A small flame that looks dim in the bright midday sunlight.
It was a goblin fire. The moment the bullies stopped breathing in surprise, the old man suddenly shouted out loud.
“It is Panis-kun’s soul! Hurry and run to the church!”
“Ahh!”
“What is that!”
“Bounce!”
The bullies screamed in horror and ran past the old man.
Daria, who was hiding behind me, also pulled my wrist with trembling hands, as if she was also frightened.
“Pop Poi-let’s go to church too!”
“No, you don’t have to. You can rest assured.”
“But… it’s scary.”
“Because it’s okay.”
I put the pulse into the scabbard and wrapped my arms around Daria’s shoulders.
“There is no need to be afraid. It’s just… magic.”
While saying that, an old man left alone was approaching us. The goblin fire that had been floating in the sky had disappeared before I knew it.
“Is that right, old man?”
“Hehe, you have good eyesight. Can you excuse me for a minute?”
“Oh, of course.”
When we stepped aside, the old man went into the barn and returned with a shovel. Then he shrugged his shoulders with a smile on his wrinkled face.
“I had to dig, but the shovel broke. I was just coming to borrow it from the mill.” “Are you selling the land?”
“Yes. There is someone to bury
There is someone to bury.
It wasn’t a big deal, but I didn’t think it was a sentence that was very suitable for an old man.
“You, by any chance, isn’t that… the ‘bloody swordsman’?”
Ugh, I don’t like hearing this guy’s nickname any time. who the hell built it?
I grumbled inwardly, but nodded my head with a calm face.
“There is such a nickname. It is called Phoenix.”
“Heh, that’s right. Nice to meet you, Phoenix. I expected that from the way you look.”
“Are you dressed up?”
“That’s right. Thanks to hearing some pretty detailed rumors, I figured it out at a glance. By the way, are there any injuries? You and the lady behind you?”
“We are fine. I am indebted to you, old man.”
At my words, the old man smiled broadly and shook his head.
“What is your status? I was just afraid that the young men would lose their lives in a moment’s mistake. Burying young people is never pleasant.”
“Haha, I didn’t mean to kill him. I was going to take care of my hands properly…”
“Oh, was it? I must have interfered.”
“No, no. It is better to avoid fighting.”
“Yes, yes. Better to avoid fighting. I wish all the young people were like you… oh dear.”
The old man, who had been chattering in excitement, made a surprised expression and took off his black hat.
Then the well-groomed gray hair, brushed back with oil, was revealed. Seeing such a completely exposed face, I was able to be sure of the old man’s identity.
“You didn’t introduce me.”
Saying that, the old man asked for a handshake. When I held it, I could feel the long, thin fingers and the rough palms that didn’t suit them.
I looked into the old man’s deep eyes and reviewed the information about him.
“My name is ‘Luke’.”
The old man’s name is Popaluk.
“The funeral limb.”
He was a seeker of ‘Younggeummun’ and a necromancer.
“…Nice to meet you, Mr. Luke.”
Responding like that, I managed to suppress the cheers that were about to erupt.
…Heheh, long live!
Now eat me until Chapter 5!
