“Killian Vicious...?”
“So you’ve heard of him.”
“He’s the most infamous criminal in the kingdom right now.”
Killian Vicious.
A criminal notorious not only throughout the Kingdom of Darsen, but even in the neighboring Kingdom of Gamelda.
He was the leader of the White Crow, a criminal organization operating in both Darsen and Gamelda, and a gang boss responsible for nearly every imaginable kind of atrocity.
It would be a mistake to dismiss him as a mere gang leader.
Killian Vicious himself was reputed to be an accomplished Magic Warrior, and there were rumors that several highly skilled deserters—even former officers—served under him.
With his own abilities and those of his subordinates, he had become a public enemy of both the Kingdom of Darsen and the Kingdom of Gamelda in the mere five years since he first appeared.
The two hostile kingdoms even cooperated to some extent when it came to hunting Killian Vicious. The fact that he had still evaded capture for more than five years proved that he was anything but ordinary.
“Is the White Crow active in this territory too?”
“Yes. Killian Vicious himself has been sighted several times.”
“That must be quite a headache for the lord.”
“It is. We have attempted to subjugate them several times, but without much success.”
Saul continued examining the documents as he listened.
“Then shall we deal with a few of the smaller nuisances first and afterward try hunting the White Crow?”
Instead of welcoming Saul’s suggestion, Aina looked concerned.
“Will you truly be all right?”
“With what?”
“Slaying monsters would not be a problem, but....”
Saul understood exactly what Aina meant.
Capturing criminals was no simple matter.
Moreover, criminals on a frontier like this tended to be vicious men accustomed to robbery and murder.
Ideally, Saul would have preferred to capture all of them alive and allow the law to judge them.
But the world did not operate according to ideals.
Safely capturing hardened criminals was difficult enough. Bringing them all the way back to prison unharmed so they could stand trial was even more difficult.
If he intended to confront such villains, blood would inevitably be spilled.
Aina was indirectly asking whether Saul was prepared to see human blood.
Saul gave a wry smile inwardly.
Was he now being treated as someone so sheltered that he could not bear the sight of human blood?
For the moment, Saul answered vaguely.
“If it’s for the security of this territory and the kingdom, I’ll have to be prepared for that much.”
“...Understood. If that is Your Highness’s will.”
Saul changed the subject.
“Then where should we begin?”
“Well.... Here would be best, Your Highness.”
Aina pointed to the nearest location marked with a ‘C’ from the lord’s estate.
“Generally, the farther you travel from Sajeta, the more dangerous the criminals and monsters become. So I think it would be best to begin somewhere relatively close.”
Sajeta, the center of the territory, housed the Lord’s Army, and kingdom forces were stationed not far away.
As a result, the farther one traveled from Sajeta, the less pressure criminals and monsters faced from either the Lord’s Army or the kingdom’s military, allowing larger and more dangerous groups to form.
“Good. Then let’s begin there.”
***
Officially, Prince Saul was said to be continuing his stay at the lord’s estate alongside Kastel.
They had decided to keep Saul’s secret excursions hidden even from Royal Inspector Pierre.
Pierre would probably discover the truth eventually, but until then, Saul intended to maintain absolute secrecy.
Once all preparations were complete, Saul, Kastel, Aina, and three knights secretly departed from the lord’s estate.
Their destination was a village named Marinda, located some distance from Sajeta.
It had been selected as their base because it was close to several criminal hideouts while still maintaining reasonably good security within the village itself.
As they rode from the lord’s estate toward Marinda, the sun eventually began to set.
Saul had learned horseback riding at the royal palace and was comfortable in the saddle, but this was the first time he had ridden for such a long stretch.
After spending far too many hours on horseback, everything from his backside to his lower back felt as though it were screaming in pain.
“Ugh....”
Unable to complain because of his dignity as a prince, Saul carefully controlled his expression and glanced at the others.
Kastel, Aina, and the three knights accompanying Aina.
Every one of them looked perfectly composed.
They were clearly accustomed to spending long periods on horseback.
“…….”
Seeing their calm expressions, Saul endured the pain and simply prayed that they would reach Marinda soon.
***
After the exhausting journey, they finally arrived in Marinda.
Fewer than a hundred households lived there, but it was apparently considered a fairly large village by the standards of this territory.
“Please wait here for a moment.”
Aina dismounted first and went with the knights to inspect the village.
Watching her leave, Saul remarked,
“Aina seems accustomed to this kind of work too, doesn’t she?”
“Yes, Your—”
Just before Kastel could say ‘Your Highness,’ Saul gave her a pointed look.
Understanding immediately, Kastel quickly corrected herself.
“...Young Master.”
“Be careful with how you address me.”
“My apologies.”
When concealing one’s identity, appearance and speech were the two things that required the greatest caution.
Their appearances were hidden with masks and helmets, while the others also had to avoid speaking to Saul as though they were serving a prince.
Both were essential if Saul’s disguise was to succeed.
Saul swept his gaze across Marinda.
“It’s a pleasant village. Much quieter than Ledia, where the royal palace is.”
“Do you like villages such as this, Young Master?”
“It isn’t that I dislike the kingdom or the capital, but sometimes they feel too crowded. I’ve occasionally wanted to visit a quiet village like this.”
“Do not forget that bandits are swarming practically on the doorstep of this quiet village.”
“Of course. We came here to deal with those bandits, after all.”
After they waited a little longer, Aina returned.
“The village is safe. But the roads inside are poor for horses, so it would be more comfortable to walk.”
There were members of the royal family who seemed almost pathologically opposed to walking, but Saul was not one of them.
“Then we’ll walk.”
As Saul dismounted, Aina gave orders to her subordinates.
“You will enter the village with us. The others will guard the surrounding area. Remember this clearly: if any of you cause harm to the residents, you will be severely punished under military law.”
“Yes, my lady!”
The soldiers responded to Aina’s command with disciplined voices.
Both the one giving the orders and those receiving them were obviously accustomed to this sort of work.
After entering the village, Saul settled into its only inn.
Apparently, Aina had already made arrangements with the establishment, because she immediately led Saul to his room.
The inn where Saul’s party was staying was not only the village’s sole lodging house, but also its only tavern and restaurant.
Perhaps for that reason, several customers were already seated inside even though the sun had only just begun to disappear beyond the western horizon.
The customers paid little attention to Saul’s group.
Saul and Aina wore helmets.
Kastel and the knights had their faces uncovered.
It seemed like an unusual group for an inn like this, yet no one appeared particularly interested.
Only after entering the room did Saul finally remove his helmet.
“Now I can finally breathe.”
Aina removed hers and expressed much the same sentiment.
“Exactly. Of course, a helmet can save its wearer’s life, but it really is suffocating. There’s a reason warriors who reach a certain level stop wearing them. Even a light helmet is this uncomfortable. Imagine a heavy steel one....”
Aina had begun chattering enthusiastically about a subject she knew well, only to realize belatedly that she had been talking too much and shut her mouth.
Saul chuckled and changed the subject.
“The villagers accepted us without any trouble.”
“The Lord’s Army often dispatches soldiers or knights throughout the territory on various assignments. We informed the village that this was another such mission.”
“Then the villagers probably think we’re merely soldiers under the lord’s command, or perhaps knights at most.”
“That is correct.”
As she spoke, Aina unfolded a map.
“The situation does not seem to have changed significantly from what is recorded here.”
“Then let’s rest for a day and begin the day after tomorrow.”
“Yes, Young Master. And... if you’ve changed your mind, please tell me at any time.”
She meant that if Saul decided he could not bring himself to spill human blood, she would understand.
Saul recognized her meaning and chuckled.
“We came all this way. I can’t return empty-handed.”
“...Understood. Then I’ll leave you to rest.”
Aina returned to her room with the knights.
Saul turned to Kastel.
“You should go too, Teacher.”
“Yes.”
After sending Kastel away as well, Saul examined his equipment.
The helmet that concealed his face.
The plain-looking Magic Armor reinforced through magic.
The Magic Sword deliberately painted and dirtied to make it look worn and inexpensive.
Even his equipment had been carefully altered to conceal his identity.
He had prepared thoroughly, but he could not help feeling tense at the prospect of real combat after so long.
Fighting monsters was different from fighting humans.
Not only did they require different strategies, but the feeling itself was different.
Saul had no intention of killing anyone unless it was necessary.
The people he wanted dead were his enemies in the Kingdom of Gamelda, not some group of bandits or robbers he had never met before.
But if circumstances left him no choice, blood would have to be spilled.
“I can’t hesitate.”
How many people had died or suffered terrible injuries in their first real battle because they hesitated?
Death did not care about a person’s age or experience.
Saul stared at his Magic Sword and steeled himself.
He would not allow himself to make even a single careless mistake.
***
Two days later.
Accompanied only by Aina and Kastel, Saul headed toward a bandit hideout located not far from the village.
“They say the bandits settled on that mountain about six months ago.”
“And you still haven’t been able to subjugate them?”
“No. They are more cunning than expected. Whenever a large force moves against them, they disappear immediately, then reappear as soon as the troops withdraw. Our territory cannot afford to keep large numbers of soldiers deployed for long periods just to hunt down a small bandit group.”
“I see. But if only the three of us approach, the bandits probably won’t run away.”
Saul was not particularly nervous.
He had grown accustomed both to Aina’s somewhat more relaxed manner away from the lord’s estate and to the leather helmet covering his face.
After riding for nearly an hour, the group spotted a small mountain ahead.
It was the mountain marked on the map.
“That’s the one, right?”
“Yes. They are said to use a large cave in the mountain as their hideout.”
The authorities knew both that the bandits existed and where their hideout was, yet had still failed to eliminate them.
That could mean the bandits were formidable.
Or it could mean the territory had problems maintaining control.
Perhaps both were true.
After reaching the foot of the mountain, Saul’s group began searching for the bandits in earnest.
If they did not appear, Saul intended to go looking for them himself.
Fortunately, there was no need.
“Stop!”
A shout rang out from the mountain path, followed by a log rolling down and blocking the road.
It had been positioned precisely enough to block their path without injuring Saul’s party or their horses.
Whoever had done it had clearly practiced this more than once.
Once the road was blocked, several men emerged from the forest.
Every one of them had a vicious appearance and wore shabby but reasonably serviceable equipment.
They were obviously bandits.
“Get off the horses if you don’t want to die on them.”
Several bandits were aiming crossbows at them.
Judging from the murderous looks in their eyes, they would pull the triggers immediately if Saul’s group refused to dismount.
For now, Saul, Aina, and Kastel all climbed down from their horses.
At the same time, Saul sensed the faintest movement of mana from Kastel.
She was probably preparing for the slightest possibility that something went wrong.
But if Kastel helped him, this could hardly be called real combat.
He and Aina had to finish this with their own strength.