The Top-Tier Butler of the Marquis Family Chapter 29 : Chapter 29

Chapter 029

I had a bad feeling about this.

Had it been two or three minutes after I ca out of Cornel’s house? Flas suddenly shot upward, and the whole place began burning fiercely. Looking at a blaze that strong, there was no way it had started naturally.

If it had been natural, then the flas would only have grown that violent around the ti I had fully left the area.

I need to check it after all.

First, I pulled my hood down low and moved in that direction. One by one, people began gathering and shouting loudly.

“Water! Bring water! There is soone inside!”

“It is already too late! Even if we bring water, there is no way to put it out!”

Naturally. The fire had already spread through the entire house, and there was no chance a place like this had anything like fire hydrants installed for putting out a blaze.

And the Cornel who had been inside was probably already dead.

Or else he had escaped.

He knew important secrets, so the rchant company would surely send an assassin after him. If that happened, he would be as good as murdered where he stood. Of course, it was also possible he got frightened of that and ran.

But would he really?

I had worked with Training Officer Cornel, if only for a short while. Judging from his personality, he was not the sort to act this boldly.

Even if he left, he would have slipped away quietly. He would never do sothing that would draw people swarming like this.

Then only one possibility remained.

“So he really was murdered?”

I toyed with the mana pistol hanging at my waist.

If my guess was correct, the culprit had killed Cornel before setting the fire. After that, he had probably poured on so oil and set the place alight. That would have been enough to finish things quickly. Cornel’s body had not been in good shape after my interrogation, and he had never been a particularly strong man to begin with.

“The culprit is here among them.”

I tore my attention away from the burning house and studied the people who had gathered around.

Most of them looked ordinary enough. Half worried and half stunned, they were staring at the burning house. So of them cautiously moved closer and began trying to stop the flas from spreading.

“But those two?”

A pair of n caught my eye.

Just two.

Their expressions were unnaturally flat. One stood there with his arms crossed, while the other leaned to one side and watched the fire from a short distance away.

“Suspicious as hell.”

Sensing at once that sothing was there, I used mana to heighten my sight.

Hummm!

Their bodies enlarged as though I were observing them from right beside them. With the eyes of a hawk, I searched their bodies for clues.

I could not distinguish them by clothing alone. This was only my second ti going outside, after all. I still did not understand the styles of the people in this world very well.

“Hm? That is...”

There was one detail worth noticing.

A tattoo.

One of them wore long sleeves, so apart from looking unpleasant, there was not much to see. But the other had on a short-sleeved shirt.

A tail.

A black tail.

There was a tattoo on his forearm.

The upper part of it was hidden. His clothes covered the rest, so I could not see it fully, but the black tail alone was enough for to picture the remainder. It was a familiar mark.

A black scorpion.

“The Scorpion Gang?”

It was a tattoo I would never forget for the rest of my life. I had survived a situation where I almost died because of them. The mark on their skin was identical to the tattoo I had seen on Kalmond’s arm.

So my prediction had been right after all. The true power behind this incident was not the Arkain rchant Company. It was the Scorpion Gang bastards behind them.

CRAAAASH!

At that mont, a trendous roar broke out beside us, and the house collapsed. People scread, and many of them flinched back in shock, but the n of the Scorpion Gang rely smiled.

That confird it.

Forr Training Officer Cornel had indeed beco one who would never return from the Afterlife at their hands.

“I was planning to deal with you soday anyway. Shall I loosen up a little?”

I picked up a stone from the ground. Then I flicked it lightly toward them. It struck the large man standing on the left in the shoulder and bounced away.

“What was that?”

The bastard who had been hit looked around, and our eyes t. I did not miss that opening. I slowly smiled, making sure he could clearly see the corner of my mouth lift.

“So it was you, you little shit! Why the hell are you throwing stones? Do you have a death wish?”

There were too many people here. I jerked my chin toward an alley to the side and began moving. The n snorted and followed after .

It was a dead-end alley.

“Hahaha! You picked a fine burial spot. Why are you picking a fight, huh?”

I did not take off my hood. In that state, I asked,

“You are Scorpion Gang, right?”

“......”

Their expressions changed at once.

It seed they had realized I was not ordinary. At least these bastards had not spent their years for nothing.

“What, are you mute? I asked whether you are Scorpion Gang.”

“Fuck. So throwing that stone was intentional. Who sent you?”

“What would you do if you knew?”

Shing!

The n drew the swords hanging at their waists. Thick, crude things, ugly blades that looked more suited for a butcher’s shop than a battlefield.

But I did not panic.

I was confident I could subdue them before they even reached .

I placed my hand on my right hip. Just then, they threw a question at .

“Are you one of Cornel’s lackeys?”

“At one ti, yes.”

“Then you can die too. When you et him in the Afterlife, it will be a pleasant reunion!”

Click!

The mont I drew the mana pistol and leveled it, the n flinched. They had never seen anything like it before. But perhaps because it did not look sharp, they charged anyway, swinging their blades.

Click.

I set the mana control switch to “dium.”

Then I aid at the one on the left.

THUNK! THUNK!

“Gaaaah!”

One shot struck his chest, and another smashed into his face. He dropped his sword and rolled on the ground. The one who had been charging stopped dead, glanced down at his companion, and then began backing away.

“A crossbow? Wh-what is that? What in the world is it? Are you a mage?”

“Wrong! Are mages really that common? What a complete lack of basic sense.”

I had asked Stewart about that once before. What sort of people were mages?

His answer had been simple. They were not the splendid figures from novels, but sages who studied the laws of the world and the flow of energy.

And their numbers were vanishingly small. Since the Twilight of Mana, the number of mages had continued to dwindle.

Though that was not important right now.

“So where shall I hit you next? Do you have a preferred location?”

“Eek!”

He looked like he was about to flee, so I aid for the place that would hurt the most.

Then, with no rcy at all, I pulled the trigger.

THUNK!

It was only a single shot, but the bullet struck exactly where I wanted it to.

A very unfortunate place.

“Keeeegh!”

Hit in the groin, the bastard foad at the mouth and collapsed on the spot. If anything, he looked worse off than the one who had taken bullets to the chest and face. It would be pitiful if he died from that.

My bullets were a little special. Wrapped in mana, they did not pierce when they struck. Instead, they delivered a crushing shock. So the effect was rather like being hit with a hamr.

The man beside him stared at his comrade, who was lying there foaming at the mouth, and his face drained of all color.

I placed my foot on his chest.

“From now on, answer my questions properly. If you do not, I will do the sa to you as I did to your friend.”

Shaking violently, he nodded again and again. I aid the muzzle not at his face, but at his groin, and asked,

“You killed Cornel, did you not? Why?”

“I-I only did what I was told!”

“Bullshit.”

“Ughhh....”

I pressed down harder with the foot on his chest. He wheezed and gasped for breath. Do not worry. I am not going to kill you.

“I already have a rough idea, so tell the truth. Otherwise, you will never hold a woman again for the rest of your life. This weapon hurts quite a bit. At that point, would it not be better to die?”

“Hrrk!”

“Damn it, you really do not understand, do you? Then there is no helping it. Goodbye.”

I turned my gaze away from him and aid the gun.

Just as I was about to fire—

“Wait! Waiiiit!”

Smiling, I lowered the weapon.

“So now you feel like talking?”

“I really do not know! I do not know! But I heard one thing! He said that bastard knew too much about our organization’s secrets... he definitely said that! So they told us to kill him!”

Judging from the way he was drooling and desperately trying to justify himself, it seed to be true.

“You know soone called Roy, right? The fellow who works for the Arkain rchant Company.”

“Th-that...”

“Do you know him or not?”

“I know him!”

I pressed down with my foot again.

“This bastard really does have a filthy short way of speaking. Do you want to try that again?”

“I-I am sorry!”

“What relation do you have to the man called Roy?”

“W-we are from the sa family!”

Just as I thought. The parts that had been vaguely obscured were finally coming clearly into view.

The situation was not bad.

In fact, it was good.

Once this operation got underway, the Arkain rchant Company would shut its doors. I intended to interfere, after all. And once that happened, the Scorpion Gang standing behind them would also suffer a blow from which they could not recover.

And that would make the work of bringing the Scorpion Gang under my control far easier.

“Thank you for the useful information. Now then, rest comfortably.”

“Pardon...?”

THUNK! THUNK THUNK!

My gun had no rcy.

***

Before long, the sun had begun to slant westward, and the atmosphere of the festival was steadily intensifying. I had heard that an even more splendid celebration awaited after nightfall, so the crowd seed to be growing thicker and thicker.

I did not take my eyes off the central stage.

Dancers and musicians had climbed onto it and were putting on a lively performance. But I was not watching them. Instead, I was scanning the surroundings sharply.

“He said there were n lying in ambush inside the temporary structure too, did he not?”

It was information I truly never would have guessed. If I had not managed to get that information from Cornel, the bastards would have moved one step ahead of .

In any case, now was the perfect chance to tell friend from foe.

The people who had co to enjoy the festival would keep their eyes on the stage. So anyone paying attention to sothing other than the stage would naturally be suspicious.

Just like .

“Hahaha! Did everyone enjoy yourselves? Please look forward to our next Harvest Festival performance as well! Thank you, everyone!”

A troupe leader with a great thick beard gave the closing greeting on behalf of the perforrs.

The square filled with applause and cheers. It seed the performance had ended. The troupe leader and his mbers bowed in a line and stepped down from the stage.

Perhaps it was ti to move toward the temporary structure.

Turning my eyes that way, I saw soldiers with spears standing guard around the building. Since it was not yet ti for Sapiela to erge, the entrance remained shut tight.

But then the door opened, and knights and soldiers began coming out.

“What?”

Since only the knights were coming out, while the maids remained inside, perhaps they were going to change clothes. Or perhaps sothing inside was not ant to be seen by them. Then suddenly, one possibility flashed through my mind.

“If that is the case, there will not be anyone left inside worth defending.”

Instantly, I sensed that this was the beginning of the plan.

I quickly circled around the building in a wide arc and moved to the deserted rear.

“Hm?”

Sothing was wrong.

The soldier guarding the back side of the building—aning the very wall where the secret door was hidden—suddenly staggered. Then he lost consciousness and collapsed heavily to the ground. The soldier beside him dropped his weapon and crumpled in turn.

At that mont, a suspicious carriage approached in silence.

A cry of admiration slipped out of .

“So it really is a perfect plan. They are even more dangerous than I expected.”

The man on the driver’s seat had his mouth covered by a mask. They must have scattered the knockout drug. The soldiers were falling one after another, after all.

In the end, every one of the guards at the rear collapsed. It must have been chaos inside the temporary structure by now as well.

Creeeak!

Then the back door rotated once, and from inside, a rough-looking man ca running out.

With Young Lady Sapiela slung over his shoulder.

It seed the Young Lady had not been fully put to sleep, because she was resisting. But her mouth had been gagged, so she could not scream.

Every part of the plan was unfolding without a single error.

But unfortunately for them, there was one person who knew the plan.

Just before the bastard could climb into the carriage with the Young Lady, I pulled the trigger at the carriage.

THUNK! THUNK!

“Neeeeigh!”

I had aid deliberately at the horse.

The horse struck by the bullet collapsed on the spot. As a result, the carriage lurched, broke apart, and toppled onto one side. The n already aboard it were crushed underneath.

At that instant, the Young Lady’s eyes t mine.

She looked at with cold eyes, as though suppressing her fury.

I am not your enemy.

As proof, I removed my hood. The mont my identity was revealed, the Young Lady’s eyes trembled slightly.

Why are you so surprised?

I told you, did I not? No matter what happened, I would save you.