Chapter 22.2: ๐๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐ (๐)
Chapter 22.2: ๐๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐ (๐)
Johan opened his eyes.
ใ ค
Burren was just about to touch the door with his hand.
ใ ค
A beast-like intuition!
ใ ค
That intuition instinctively forewarned of danger.
ใ ค
โ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ต?โ
ใ ค
Johan, who had woken up, struggled to grasp the situation. He woke up due to an ominous feeling, but it wasnโt immediately clear what the situation was.
ใ ค
๐๐๐ฅ๐ค๐๐๐๐คโ
ใ ค
Someone was trying to slide a thin hook through the gap in the door to push the latch open. This was possible because the innโs door was rather flimsy.
ใ ค
โ๐๐ฏ ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ? ๐๐ฐ. ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ? ๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ง.โ
ใ ค
Johan tensed his body as he quickly ran through thoughts in his mind. He was ready to overpower whoever was entering.
ใ ค
๐๐๐ฅ๐ค๐๐๐๐คโ
ใ ค
The latch slid open, and the door opened. Someone tiptoed in through the darkness, and Johan pounced.
ใ ค
โ!!!โ
ใ ค
The reason the other person couldnโt scream was that Johan had hit his solar plexus and grabbed his throat. Burrenโs face turned pale blue from the suffocating pain, feeling as though his entire body was breaking.
ใ ค
๐๐ก๐ฎ๐!
ใ ค
Johan quickly threw the man to the ground and firmly subdued him. Then he raised his arm. He could feel the manโs joints screaming.
ใ ค
โAnswer me if you donโt want to die.โ
ใ ค
โUh-huh. . . Uh-huh. . . I canโt breathe, I canโt breathe. . . you b*stard. . .โ
ใ ค
โWho are you?โ
ใ ค
Johan felt relieved. Seeing the other person, he knew it wasnโt an assassin. It couldnโt have been this sloppy. But he didnโt let his guard down. Being careless just because the other person was struggling would disappoint Kaegal.
ใ ค
โAnswer me.โ
ใ ค
Johan applied more pressure with his arm as Burren gasped for air and spewed curses. The man, in agonizing pain as if his arm was being torn apart, finally spoke.
ใ ค
โI-Im. . . Bouln!โ
ใ ค
โWhatโs your purpose for coming?โ
ใ ค
โW-What purpose. . . I just mistook the room, damn it! You thought youโd get away after this. . . Aaah!โ
ใ ค
Johan dislocated the shoulder joint of the other person. Burren screamed in pain he had never experienced before. Johan stuffed a dirty cloth into Burdenโs mouth to prevent his screams from leaking out.
ใ ค
โI can tell youโre underestimating me. A guy who mistook the room and brought tools to pick the lock. Now, Iโm going to break your fingers one by one. It would be wise to answer before all ten are broken. Otherwise, it will be your neck thatโs breaking.โ
ใ ค
โUgh!โ
ใ ค
๐๐ซ๐๐๐คโ
ใ ค
Johan didnโt wait for an answer and broke a finger. Then he removed the cloth. The arrogant attitude was gone, and Burren was now a mess of tears and snot, sobbing.
ใ ค
โAnswer me. If you donโt want to die.โ
ใ ค
โP-Please. . . If you kill me, my family wonโt stay quiet. We run a mill.โ
ใ ค
โIs your father a Count? Are you a b*stard or something?โ
ใ ค
โWhat does that. . .?โ
ใ ค
โGuess not. Save your miller talk for the people of your town. You havenโt tasted enough yet.โ
ใ ค
Johan stuffed the cloth back in and broke another finger. And then one more.
ใ ค
Mills, gristmills, inns, and such facilities in the town often belonged to the feudal lord. This meant that the townspeople had to pay a separate fee to the lord every time they used these facilities.
ใ ค
Such facility owners were naturally appointed with the lordโs permission, and the townspeople feared them, even though they resented them.
ใ ค
No matter how menial the job, being connected to the lord was a big deal.
ใ ค
However, Johan was not deceived.
ใ ค
Only the serfs would be fooled by such pretense; in reality, these facility owners never met the nobility.
ใ ค
A scribe under the Count, a manager under that scribe. That was the limit of whom the serfs could ever see. The manager was just a low-level bureaucrat who came to collect taxes for the fiefdom, but when the manager came, from the village chief to the elders, they fawned over him. Even the loud mill owners or millers trembled before the manager.
ใ ค
Of course, Johan, originally a modern man reborn as a noble, wouldnโt be frightened by such threats. If the manager came, it was clear whose side he would take.
ใ ค
No matter if it was their own town or their own serfs, from a nobleโs perspective, serfs were not the same as themselves. On the other hand, Johan was a fellow noble.
ใ ค
โSo, are you ready to talk?โ
ใ ค
โY-Yes. . . Yes! I was trying to steal a sword. . .โ
ใ ค
โA sword?โ
ใ ค
โThat sword, it looked expensive. . .โ
ใ ค
โ๐๐ฐ๐ธ?!โ
ใ ค
Johan was shocked. The sword must be expensive, but it had never been drawn in the town. That meant. . .
ใ ค
โHow did you find out?!โ
ใ ค
โThat mercenary egged me on! The one named Gamson!โ
ใ ค
โ!โ
ใ ค
Johan realized the situation had gotten complicated. He had thought it was just a scared thief who had come in alone, but if there was a group, it was a different story. Johan lifted the bellows with one hand and then kicked open the door and ran out.
ใ ค
โW-Whatโs this?โ
ใ ค
The drowsy innkeeper uttered in a panicked voice. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and the knight who had stayed upstairs came down with Burren. Apparently, Burren had lost his mind and was sobbing with tears.
ใ ค
โWhat happened. . .โ
ใ ค
โDid you help?โ
ใ ค
โNo!โ
ใ ค
When Johan asked threateningly, the innkeeper quickly responded. Living as an innkeeper in the town, the only thing that had grown was his intuition. Realizing the severity of Johanโs question, the innkeeper understood that a wrong answer now could really lead to death.
ใ ค
Despite the darkness, the innkeeper could see the murderous look in Johanโs eyes. He realized his pants were slightly wet.
ใ ค
โ๐-๐๐ณ๐ข๐ป๐บ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ. . . ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ฐ?โ
ใ ค
The innkeeper stared at Burren. He couldnโt imagine what the hell heโd gotten himself into.
ใ ค
โTrust me. Turn on the fire and bring out a torch!โ
ใ ค
โYes. . . yes!โ
ใ ค
The kind demeanor Johan showed was merely like a lion briefly wearing a sheepโs skin. The innkeeper painfully realized this. Knights were fundamentally predators meant for slaughter.