Chapter 2-21 : Leading The Rats Into The Trap (part 4)
ーA few hours ago when the party was still ongoingー
ーCount Oglan’s perspectiveー
「That insolent, disrespectful little girl! Why is she so freaking stubborn!? Just give me that blizzard sword already, godammit!」(Oglan)
I felt extremely mad after Marquis Kushaq’s foolish adopted child refused to sell her Blizzard Magic Sword to me.
I didn’t want anyone to see me being emotional, so I went to my private room to calm myself down a bit.
「She was just a freaking commoner a few days ago, and she dared to defy me, a noble! She got too cocky just because she was adopted by Marquis Kushaq! Gaah! She really pisses me off!」(Oglan)
ーSMACK!
「ーOuch! Dammit, it hurts!」(Oglan)
I hit the wall to vent my anger, but I ended up hurting my hand.
「Oi, oi. Boss, you’re not a child anymore. Calm down, will ya?」(??)
「Tsk. You saw it, huh?」(Oglan)
I thought I was alone, but there seemed to be someone else in this room.
I turned around and saw a familiar face. He is the leader of the bandit group that’s working for me.
「Judging from your bad mood, I’m guessing that you failed to buy that girl’s magic sword.」(bandit leader)
「…Yeah. I underestimated that stubborn kid.」(Oglan)
「Hahaha! Well, no worries. As planned, we’ll bring the sword to you. It will be as easy as taking candy from a child.」(bandit leader)
「You think so? I heard that Marquis Kushaq’s daughter, Maitena, was a formidable fighter.」(Oglan)
「Hah! No matter how strong she is, she can’t fight us all by herself. Besides, I have this wind magic sword from you. We won’t lose to a young lady.」(bandit leader)
「Right… I leave it to you then.」(Oglan)
「Ou. You can relax and enjoy your party while waiting for us to bring you a new toy for your collection.」(bandit leader)
「It’s not a toy! How dare you call such a gorgeous magic sword a toy!」(Oglan)
「Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. Just don’t forget to pay us later.」(bandit leader)
Saying that, he casually waved his hand and walked away in confidence.
They might be bandits, but they’re no ordinary bandits. I know what they’re capable of, and that’s why I hired them.
「Hahh… I should have just told them to steal the sword from the beginning. That way, I wouldn’t have had to talk to that insolent commoner kid…」(Oglan)
Regretting my decision to try to negotiate with the girl, I sighed and then returned to the hall to enjoy the rest of the party.
◆◆◆
After the party was over, I took a bath and then decided to feast my eyes on my beautiful collections in my secret room in the basement.
I went down the stairs that connected the main building with the basement and entered the room.
Howeverー
「Wh… What theー」(Oglan)
I saw nothing but empty display cases.
「They’re gone! My collections… are gone!!」(Oglan)
There should be rare and unique weapons in these display cases, but… They’re empty…
My collections are all gone, including the Bottomless Quicksand Magic Sword the bandits stole from the auction the other day.
「What the hell happened here!? Could they be… Those scoundrels… They betrayed me!?」(Oglan)
The first assumption that came into my mind was that those bandits betrayed me.
This secret room had two doors. Not only was this room connected to the main building where I lived, but it was also connected to the outbuilding which I let those bandits use as their temporary second base.
I gave them access to this room from the outbuilding so that they could conveniently put their stolen goods here, but it seemed to be a terrible decision.
It seemed that they decided to leave me and take all my collections with them.
「Dammit! I shouldn’t have given them access to this room!」(Oglan)
Now I feel stupid for trusting those thieves.
They have been working for me for years, so I never thought they would betray me like this.
But… Why did they decide to betray me now? I regularly pay them enough money, so I don’t think they’re unsatisfied with the payment.
No, wait… They might have found another employer who’s willing to pay them more. They’re bandits after all. For them, loyalty can be bought with money.
「Khh! Those ungrateful scoundrels!!」(Oglan)
ーSMACK!
「Agh! My hand!」(Oglan)
◆◆◆
ーThe next dayー
I couldn’t sleep last night. The sun rises without me being able to even close my eyes.
「Ahh… My collections… My beauties… Dammit…!」(Oglan)
My chest aches when I think that I’ve lost all those beautiful weapons I’ve collected for years, especially that gorgeous Bottomless Quicksand Magic Sword.
Thinking that I will never see its beauty ever again makes my chest ache more.
ーKnock knock
While I was lying on my bed listlessly without vigor, someone knocked on my door.
「My Lord, it’s me.」(butler)
「…Come in…」(Oglan)
It was my butler. He entered my room and bowed.
「I hope you have good news… I can’t handle more bad news right now…」(Oglan)
「I’m not sure if it’s good news or bad news, but the bandit leader came to me this morning.」(butler)
「That scoundrel!?」(Oglan)
When I heard the word ‘bandit leader’ from my butler’s mouth, I quickly raised my body.
I felt tired due to lack of sleep, but I couldn’t just stay still when I heard such news.
「What did that traitor come for!? Did he come to mock me!?」(Oglan)
「No, My Lord. He told me that he had your collections with him in a safe place.」(butler)
「Wh… What? So… He didn’t betray me?」(Oglan)
「I’m not sure. He said you should go see him in their hideout.」(butler)
「Hmm… Alright. Prepare my carriage now.」(Oglan)
「Right away, My Lord.」(butler)
My butler bowed and left my room to prepare the carriage for me.
I then got up from my bed and changed clothes.
I don’t know what their motive is for hiding my collections, but they better have a good reason for that.
◆◆◆
I had no time to eat, so I skipped breakfast and went to those bandits’ hideout on the outskirts of the city.
I wonder what their motive is. If they did betray me, I don’t think they want to see me now. They could have run away to another city with my collections.
While wondering, I entered the hideout and saw the bandit leader sitting on a worn-out sofa. He seemed to have been waiting for me.
「Yo, Boss. Sorry you have to come all the way here.」(bandit leader)
「You bastard! Where’s my collection!?」(Oglan)
「Whoa, whoa. Calm down. I have them here, don’t you worry.」(bandit leader)
「Where!? I want to see my swords!」(Oglan)
「Alright, alright! Geez…」(bandit leader)
While still sitting, he took out a sword from a wooden box lying next to him on the sofa.
It was my beloved Bottomless Quicksand Magic Sword.
「Ohh…! Oooohhh~! My baby! I thought I lost you!」(Oglan)
I quickly snatched it from his hand. I then pressed my cheek against the hilt and kissed it as if it were my lover.
「Ugh, you’re weird as always.」(bandit leader)
「Shut up! How about this baby’s sibling sword? The blizzard sword. Did you manage to steal it from the girl?」(Oglan)
「Of course. Here you go.」(bandit leader)
He opened another wooden box and took out the sword.
It was without a doubt the beautiful Blizzard Magic Sword that insolent girl showed me at the party last night.
「Whoaaaa!!」(Oglan)
I gently put away the quicksand sword and hugged the blizzard sword as if it were my wife.
「I thought this day would never come! I’m so happy!」(Oglan)
「So…」(bandit leader)
「A, ahem! Good job. I panicked at first. I thought you betrayed me and decided to leave with all my collections.」(Oglan)
「Ahaha…」(bandit leader)
「So, why did you bring my swords here?」(Oglan)
「Well, that’s… Uhh…」(bandit leader)
「…?」(Oglan)
He started acting weird for some reason. He avoided my gaze and breathed heavily, looking nervous all of a sudden.
I hadn’t noticed it until now, but I saw sweat dripping on his face, and his shirt was wet.
He was sweating a lot and frowned. I feel like he’s hiding something.
「You… are you hiding something?」(Oglan)
「Wh, what?」(bandit leader)
「First of all, where are the other guys? Where are your subordinates?」(Oglan)
I just noticed that there was no one in this building except for us.
Where are the other bandits?
「They… they are…」(bandit leader)
「Why are you here alone? And why are you sweating a lot? Are you sick?」(Oglan)
「I… I… ーHiiiyy!!」(bandit leader)
Suddenly, he started trembling. He held his head and closed his eyes as if he was afraid of something.
「What? What the hell’s wrong with you?」(Oglan)
「Hiiiy! P, please! I… I did what you told me! So, please!」(bandit leader)
「Huh?」(Oglan)
「Please! I’ve done my part! So, please let me live!」(bandit leader)
He then started talking, but he didn’t seem to talk to me.
He looked like he was talking to someone else.
「Please don’t kill me! Please!」(bandit leader)
「Oi, get a grip! Who the hell are you talking to!?」(Oglan)
「That… red woman… No… Red devil! She… She’s gonna eat me alive!」(bandit leader)
「Red woman? Devil? What in the world are you talking about!?」(Oglan)
「Aa-ahh… Seems like my daughter tortured him too much and traumatized him.」(??)
「ーHm!?」(Oglan)
While I was wondering what the hell was wrong with this man, I heard someone else’s voice from behind.
I turned around and saw the person I didn’t expect I would see here of all places.
「Marquis… Elvent Kushaq…!?」(Oglan)
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Bad as he was, and deserve it but poor dude