IHBWAT 11

Chapter 11

Beluman’s Death

Aren, the man hired by Beluman, was a D-rank mercenary.

Against a bunch of ragtag soldiers, he was confident he could win easily.

But the person standing in front of him was a different matter.

Why is the acting lord here…?

First of all, his opponent’s status was overwhelming.

A noble.

Even if he could win, he was not someone he was allowed to win against. If possible, he had to get away before his face was seen.

Otherwise, he might be charged with insulting nobility, and who knew what would happen.

“What are you doing lying down there? Aren’t you the escort who was with that Beluman fellow?”

Wrong.

The other side had already seen his face.

That alone was enough for Aren, who had lived as a mercenary, to understand. And to make matters worse, the opponent was stronger than him.

Damn it.

This was the frightening thing about nobles.

A noble who had learned to use mana could not be challenged just by judging him by appearance, no matter how weak he looked. Still, there was one piece of good news.

He had not committed any wrongdoing yet.

“Yes, that’s right. I’m Aren, hired by a man named Beluman and serving as his escort.”

He did not stand up from the prone position he had taken to crawl.

Aren had come from the outside. He knew very well how arrogant nobles could be. They were the sort who might draw a sword and strike him just for daring to stand up without permission.

If he could avoid it, a noble was a calamity one should never face.

“I know. But why is the man who should be beside Beluman here?”

Cliff asked while watching him.

Aren swallowed hard.

He quickly ran calculations in his head. How could he shift this responsibility onto Beluman?

In the worst case, he had to do that.

The moment he thought that, Cliff spoke.

“Want me to guess?”

As if he already knew exactly what Aren was thinking, Cliff wore an easy expression.

Then he continued.

“A disturbance just broke out near the prison. That means the attention of our forces will be drawn there, right?”

Aren flinched.

“And then, at a time like that, if you set fire to this warehouse, you thought you could tie my hands. If the goods were destroyed, I’d have no choice but to depend on you, right?”

“Th-that is…”

Now was the moment to choose.

Aren hesitated, but he made his decision.

He had to side with Cliff here.

That gave him the best chance of staying alive.

Cliff continued.

“Tsk, tsk. That fellow really doesn’t know his place. He must have lived as a king here for too long. My father-in-law must have been turning a blind eye to him too.”

It was likely that there had been no real conflict until now.

So Beluman had become overconfident.

He must have made the first move.

“He probably already had help from outside the territory too. So in the worst case, he thought he’d just have to escape. Looking at the state of our territory’s military, he probably thought running away would be easy.”

Aren, who had escorted Beluman for a long time, found himself nodding without realizing it.

Everything Cliff said was right.

Cliff spoke again.

“So he can’t be allowed to do that. He even dared to challenge me.”

“I told him he must never do that. But Beluman….”

The underworld’s code of loyalty—take all the blame.

Cliff listened to everything Aren said.

Then Cliff placed a finger to his lips.

“Shh.”

Aren swallowed.

“Come with me.”

At Cliff’s words, Aren moved.

Then he was momentarily startled.

Around ten soldiers were gathered beside the warehouse.

Cliff had brought him to a place like this.

Cliff said,

“Set it on fire.”

At that command, one of the soldiers moved to the center.

Only then did Aren notice stacks of hay and firewood.

At Cliff’s instruction, a spark was struck there, and soon thick, acrid smoke began to rise.

“W-what is this…?”

“If Beluman thinks the operation failed, wouldn’t he run?”

Cliff answered Aren’s shocked question as if it were nothing.

Aren stared at Cliff with a stunned expression.

He’s playing with Beluman like he’s toying with something in the palm of his hand.

Aren swallowed.

Once again, it was stamped into his mind that he could never beat Cliff.

Cliff, noticing that much from the corner of his eye, quietly felt relieved.

Good.

And inwardly, he exhaled.

He was acting calm, but the truth was Cliff could not fight very well.

He had become a mana user, but when it came to physical combat and swordsmanship, he was a complete dullard.

If things went well, he might be able to defeat someone like Aren… maybe.

But the moment my mana runs out, it’s over.

If Cliff had genuine talent, he would have either been assassinated in the ducal house or living there as a knight.

But he was neither.

In the end, he had ended up here, serving as acting lord.

He had very little mana.

Too little, in fact.

Less than an ordinary commoner who had never trained at all. And he had no real combat experience either.

Killing people is still scary.

If things went wrong, he might hesitate at the crucial moment, just like in novels.

The moment he stopped, a seasoned mercenary would surely not miss the chance.

Better to avoid unnecessary risks.

Thinking that, Cliff took Aren aside again.

“I have a proposal for you.”

“Huh?”

Aren let out a bewildered sound after hearing Cliff’s words.

“I don’t intend to eliminate the dark side of the territory entirely. More accurately, it would be better to say I think that even if I did, it would just crop up again.”

Aren swallowed.

“Then what do you mean…?”

“But Beluman is unacceptable. He dared to challenge me. Running a business in the territory is fine, even if there’s a little illegality mixed in. In fact… if there’s someone who can handle those dirty tasks for me from time to time, that wouldn’t be bad.”

A role to handle the lord’s dirty work.

The lord had no intention of eliminating the organization. Beyond that, he wanted to coexist with it.

That might make for a more stable business than before.

There was only one condition.

As long as Beluman disappeared.

“Don’t even think about challenging me. Challenging the class system, baring your fangs at a noble—dogs should live like dogs. You know you shouldn’t do such things, right?”

“G-gulp. Y-yes, that’s right.”

He understood what Cliff was saying.

He wants us to become his dogs.

And one more thing.

Betray Beluman….

Betray Beluman.

Then be loyal to Cliff.

And you can sit in Beluman’s place.

Aren understood that meaning.

“A fire has broken out in the warehouse!”

A commotion erupted.

Beluman, hearing the noise, felt the corners of his mouth rise.

Phew. As long as the acting lord can’t contain his anger and doesn’t strike me directly, this place is mine now!

His tactic had worked.

He had made preparations to escape in case of emergency, but for now, he had to receive a report.

“Aren has returned.”

The report came in.

Beluman smiled.

“Good, good. Tell him to come in at once.”

Aren came before Beluman with a stiff face.

Step by step, the distance between them closed. Since Aren had always served as Beluman’s escort, none of the surrounding guards found it suspicious.

Aren looked around.

He was checking who was nearby.

Well, I suppose it really is a plan that’s hard to report in front of others.

Beluman had originally been willing to abandon Aren depending on the circumstances.

It would be difficult to get through this incident without bloodshed.

So he had assigned the task to the one escort easiest to discard.

This guy is too timid for his own good. That makes it seem like he could betray me at any time.

As someone who was himself overflowing with the desire to betray others, Beluman felt a sense of kinship with Aren.

The scent of betrayal.

But even he did not know one thing.

That the betrayal would be today.

Squelch.

“Ugh. W-why you…?”

Clang. Clang! Clang!

“Aren, you bastard!”

With the dagger hidden in his sleeve, Aren stabbed straight into Beluman’s vital point.

The sudden attack was so fast the other guards could not react.

The real problem had been allowing the two of them to stand so close.

At that distance, there was no way they could stop it.

Thud.

Beluman’s body collapsed.

“It would be best to drop your weapons. Beluman is dead anyway.”

Aren looked around at the other guards.

There was no loyalty left to protect Beluman.

The others were still stunned, but the stench of blood in the air made them decide.

That was why they had not attacked Aren.

“What exactly are you thinking?”

Jerno, who acted as the group’s eldest brother, asked Aren what he meant.

He still didn’t understand.

Why betray Beluman at this moment? If he was going to do it, it should have been before setting fire to the territory warehouse.

Aren grinned and answered.

“The acting lord offered to make me the organization’s next boss.”

“……!”

Their eyes widened.

They looked at one another.

It was then that the situation outside became noisy.

“Th-there’s trouble! The acting lord has led soldiers here and is attacking!”

“Huh!”

The organization members who had rushed in to report froze.

The atmosphere inside was strange.

And Beluman was lying dead on the floor.

W-what in the world…?

Jerno sighed.

“…We’ve been had.”

With the lord having arrived with soldiers, there was no point arguing with Aren now.

From this moment on, the organization was effectively in the lord’s hands.

The lord is probably going to use this incident to establish his authority.

Jerno let out a sigh.

“…Put your swords away.”

“Big brother!”

“Even if we kill Aren here, the dead employer won’t come back. Right now, the situation outside matters more.”

“Haha. Good choice.”

Aren laughed smugly.

He knew exactly how much power Beluman had wielded.

And now all of that is mine?

To make that happen, he had to hurry to the lord.

And hand over Beluman’s corpse so that all the blame could be pinned on the dead man.

“Do not resist the acting lord! Beluman, who committed these crimes, was killed by me!”

He shouted this while carrying Beluman’s severed head in one hand.

The organization members, blocked by the advancing soldiers and hesitating in front of them, quickly backed away.

Aren dropped to his knees in front of Beluman’s head.

“The one who dared bare his teeth against the acting lord was acting on Beluman’s orders. Since I killed him, please use your great mercy to forgive the sins of those of us who were merely his subordinates.”

“…Take that grotesque thing away.”

At Cliff’s command, Beluman’s head was removed.

Nigel, standing nearby, advised:

“Hang Beluman’s head at the village entrance to show the people how grave it is to raise a hand against the acting lord.”

Cliff frowned.

He did not like such a cruel sight very much. But he agreed it was necessary.

“One day. Hang it there from tomorrow morning, and by evening take it down and burn his body together with it.”

“Yes, sir.”

With that, Beluman’s organization was annihilated.

There were still remnants left, along with Aren who led them—but that was fine.

Cliff had already put a leash on Aren.

Though that certainly did not mean he trusted him.

There isn’t even one bit of loyalty in him yet.

He was a man who would betray anyone.

But for now, he had chosen to back down.

Of course, before that, Cliff had to take the spoils.

“I will confiscate all of Beluman’s property.”