Lloyd pitifully held up his dagger with his scrawny body.
‘He’s not intimidating at all. Still, his eyes are murderous. And he’s only nineteen.’
In the novel, the benefactor stripped Lloyd’s clothes to treat his dying body. That was when he discovered the insignia representing Lloyd’s house.
That was why no situation came up where Lloyd was using an alias.
“...Who sent you?”
Of course he suspected me.
“What are you talking about? I came here on my own two feet.”
“Bullshit... I’ve been waiting for this day.”
Waiting for this day. I understood what he was thinking.
“Shall I take a guess at who you think I am?”
He only glared at me in silence.
“The one who killed everyone in your house—no, everyone except you. You think that man sent me, don’t you? To finish the job.”
Before long, I could feel Lloyd’s breathing grow rough.
“But if that were the case, would I have needed to bring you out here? If I paid the beggars that much, burying you would have been no trouble at all.”
Lloyd raised one corner of his mouth and laughed as though I were ridiculous.
“You must be planning to use me somehow instead of killing me.”
“Use you? Look at yourself. You’re teased even in a beggar den. What could I possibly use you for?”
“That’s what you should tell me.”
His shriveled arm clutched the dagger. His skinny legs barely supported his body.
For someone so weak, he sure had the mouth of a strongman.
“Well, in a sense, perhaps I do intend to use you.”
“Cut the nonsense and speak plainly.”
He raised the hand holding his dagger, pointing its blade at my face.
Of course, he was far enough away that it was not dangerous at all.
“Lloyd, don’t you want revenge? Revenge for your house, for your family.”
“Tell me quickly how you know my name.”
“You’re impatient. If you answer me, I’ll tell you everything honestly too.”
“.....”
Lloyd fell into thought for a moment. His dagger was still pointed at me.
“...I always think about it. But having the thought doesn’t make it something I can easily do.”
“I know. I know who made your house what it is.”
“...Who is it? Did he send you?”
It was about time to show him.
“...! Stay where you are!”
When I slipped my hand inside my robe, he became completely wary and took a step closer.
Thanks to that, the dagger’s sharp tip came a little closer to me.
“Honestly, you should stay still. This is something to clear up your suspicions.”
What I took from my pocket was Henrik’s necklace.
“...What is that?”
“A necklace that proves my identity. My name is Henrik.”
“Henrik....”
Lloyd had heard that name before. He rapidly searched through the mental encyclopedia of names in his head before finally saying,
“...Butler Rondal.”
“That’s a relief. It would have been hopeless if you didn’t remember.”
“...Rondal’s son?”
“Correct.”
Why Hess had chosen Henrik of all people as the false identity he would use to act as the mastermind around Lloyd.
It was because Henrik was the son of Butler Rondal, who had cherished Lloyd.
Henrik and Lloyd were originally supposed to meet in Part Two, but that did not matter.
He had reread the opening of the novel until it wore thin while waiting for the daily updates. Thanks to that, he knew the details inside and out.
‘I’ll intervene without ruining the bigger picture.’
“Hmph, you went to a lot of trouble to get a fake necklace.”
“I figured you’d say that.”
That was Lloyd, all right. He had to doubt even the smallest detail.
That was why Hess had not prepared carelessly.
“A fake won’t be able to do this.”
Click. Click.
He wound the small spring on the back of the pendant a few times.
Then the pattern on the necklace began to shine with a unique glow. It was the effect of the special magic carved into the pattern.
“This light...”
“Your father must have told you. How to tell the genuine article apart.”
Lloyd had heard many stories from Rondal. The more he knew, the more he had no choice but to be deceived.
Besides, this necklace really was Henrik’s necklace. The genuine article.
“...Hmph, you’ve only given me more reason to doubt you.”
“Hmm?”
“Henrik is dead. Rondal told me himself. What you’ve said now is as good as saying that you killed Henrik.”
Lloyd’s voice was full of conviction. But—
‘We’re nearly there.’
Shattering his suspicions one at a time would shake him more than removing them all at once.
Now for the final blow.
“Lord Lloyd, hide your identity. I, Rondal, will surely obtain the strength to protect you. If I cannot return, trust the one who shows you the pendant’s light.”
“...!”
Those were Rondal’s final words, which Lloyd would reveal to Henrik in Part Two.
At this point in time, only Lloyd and Rondal knew them.
“My father sent me. To protect you.”
“Then why did Rondal say that his son was dead...?”
“He did it to protect me. It’s complicated, but I’m being chased too.”
Lloyd’s eyes seemed to relax slightly, but he still had no intention of lowering his blade.
“...You could have learned it by torturing Rondal.”
As expected of Lloyd.
Yes, that was our Lloyd.
“Where is Rondal?”
“My father passed away.”
“...I can’t believe you. I won’t be fooled!”
That was enough.
To begin with, Lloyd would not believe me no matter what I said.
But I had already put enough cracks in Lloyd’s iron wall. For now, that was sufficient.
“Rondal personally...!”
Grrrrowl.
Lloyd’s face, which had been reddening as he angrily raised his voice, turned completely scarlet.
“......”
“When was the last time you ate?”
The guy who had glared at me as though he feared nothing finally averted his gaze.
“Follow me. There’s nothing suspicious about buying you a meal too, right?”
I took a few steps first, but he had no intention of moving from where he stood.
“You don’t have anywhere to return to anyway. Eat while I’m offering to buy, then go wherever you want afterward.”
After hesitating for a moment, Lloyd crammed his dagger into his waistband.
Then, with his head lowered, he started moving while dragging his feet.
As evening came, the day gradually grew darker.
I led Lloyd to a large inn in the center of the village. It was a place equipped not only with lodging and meals, but also facilities for bathing.
I had not visited it beforehand. The sign simply had pictures showing as much.
“What are you doing? Follow me.”
But when we arrived, he stopped.
“...I can’t go in there.”
“What are you talking about?”
“They don’t like me very much.”
“Don’t worry. They’ll like me.”
“Huh?”
When I grabbed Lloyd’s arm and entered the inn, the eyes of everyone inside turned toward us.
More precisely, toward Lloyd.
“We do not admit beggars.”
The woman sitting at the counter spoke bluntly as she wiped a cup.
“...See.”
“Quit talking and come in.”
“Urgh!”
He tried to shake off my arm, but there was no way he could escape with that kind of strength.
I dragged Lloyd toward the counter.
“I told you that you cannot come in! Good grief, that smell! All my customers will leave!”
The innkeeper covered her nose with a finger. The smell was not strong enough to reach all the way over there. What an exaggeration.
Henrik’s polite mode would not work here.
“Tell all your customers to leave, then. Here.”
I placed several gold coins on the counter.
“This should be more than enough to cover what those guests would pay, right? And this.”
I stacked several more gold coins on top of them.
“Use this to let this guy wash. Give him any spare clothes you have. And lastly.”
I placed all the remaining gold coins on top of the pile.
“This guy’s long-term lodging fee.”
More than a dozen gold coins were stacked like a tower on the counter.
“...Then, young man? Come over here. Shall you wash with warm water? Do you like hot water?”
The innkeeper was about to place a hand on Lloyd’s shoulder, but when she saw his filthy clothes, she went, “Oops,” and left her hand hovering in the air, merely pretending to touch him as she guided him away.
“Ma’am, once this guy is done washing, give him something to eat too. Lloyd, get plenty of rest.”
Lloyd glanced at me before disappearing with the innkeeper. Even until the end, his eyes had not lost their suspicion.
When I looked around, all the guests who had been watching us turned their eyes back to their plates.
‘Phew, what a relief. I thought they might ask for more money.’
I quickly left the inn and headed to the place where I was to meet Saya.
‘I should pick up some things Lloyd can use at the hideout. I should bring more money too. It would be good if there’s something like a swordsmanship manual.’
I had planned to enjoy a comfortable life at the hideout, but I would have to put it off for a while.
I would just teach him swordsmanship, like his first mentor had, and then leave.
Thinking about what lay ahead, I lightly rubbed the Ring of Dantalion.
Whooosh—
Soon, the transformation came undone, and Hess’s appearance returned.
The sun had set long ago, and darkness had already settled in.
There was no clock, but strangely, I could sense the time. It seemed to be an ability Hess had possessed from the beginning.
Thanks to that, I arrived at the meeting place with Saya at exactly midnight.
“You have arrived.”
“Is the hideout ready?”
“Everyone is waiting for Lord Hess.”
I began walking along the night road behind Saya. She led me into the forest.
‘This is creepy.’
The Dark Order had more than a hundred hideouts scattered across the continent.
Part One of the novel had not included anything about Hess or the hideout where he would stay.
So I had no information about the place I was headed toward.
Still, there would be no problems with life in the Dark Order, where Hess would soon be the law.
‘The ruthless Demon Swordsman Hess. A name everyone fears.’
Nightmare, the leader of the Dark Order, rarely showed himself. As a result, some people even denied that he existed.
For that reason, Hess, the second-in-command who appeared in Nightmare’s place, felt more like the true power of the Dark Order.
The Dark Order ruled this world’s criminal underworld, and Hess’s infamy as the true power even there was too vast to fully describe even after speaking through the night.
Hess had achieved all of this while still in his twenties.
‘A truly evil genius.’
Saya led Hess deeper into the mountains.
‘It’s getting darker and drearier. A perfect location for a hideout.’
“Here. As I told you regarding the hideout, there have been no changes.”
The place Saya pointed to was so dark beneath the thick trees that nothing could be seen.
“Then I will return after carrying out the rest of my mission. Go inside and rest comfortably.”
“Fine.”
Until the novel’s end, Hess had never once told his subordinates, “You’ve worked hard,” or, “Good work.”
‘I’ll act the same way.’
Then I should go inside and rest. It had been a truly hectic day.
‘But it’s too dark.’
The moment he wondered if there was something that could give off light, a certain motion came to mind.
As though possessed, he raised a finger and poured power into it.
Fwoosh.
“Oh.”
Like a lighter being lit, a small flame appeared.
‘I was wondering how magic was used, but my body remembers?’
The light given off by the flame illuminated the darkness and revealed a hidden door. Someone beyond that door saw the light as well.
“What is the darkest thing in the world?”
A voice came from beyond the door.
When I did not answer, the man repeated himself.
“...What is the darkest thing in the world?”
It was a password.
Each Dark Order hideout had its own assigned password.
― “As I told you regarding the hideout, there have been no changes.” ―
It seemed Hess had been told the password beforehand... But I had no idea what it was.
“......What is the darkest thing in the world?”
The darkest thing in the world...
Then there was only one answer.