WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
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◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 164: Usman (2)
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The severed head of Hakain the Sword Demon had been put on display atop the enormous gates of Usman’s castle.
Drip. Drip.
Blood fell from the severed neck.
Johan watched the sight without expression.
“What a cute little stunt.”
The driver turned pale and stammered, “I knew it. Usman, they’re not human. They’re beasts wearing human skin. We never should have come here. We’re all going to die.”
The Usman clan was infamous.
Their cruelty and savagery were well known throughout the South.
Even children who refused to sleep would shut their eyes at the mere first syllable of Usman.
In the South, Usman was synonymous with terror.
Johan spoke to the driver.
“Stop making such a fuss.”
The driver looked at Johan, his face white as a sheet.
“M-My lord Baron, you must leave this place at once. Those savage pirate bastards could appear at any moment!”
Johan remained calm.
“They’re probably watching us already. They’ve likely heard everything you said too.”
The driver flinched and looked around.
The reed field was quiet, yet he could somehow feel eyes upon him.
The driver quickly climbed onto the driver’s seat.
“I’ll depart at once! Please get in!”
Johan did not move.
He stood silently, lost in thought.
The driver found it unbearably frustrating. If he could have, he would have abandoned Johan and fled immediately.
But he could not bring himself to do it.
Johan was a highly respected lord, beloved by most of his people.
The driver sincerely respected him as well.
After a moment of thought, Johan frowned in confusion.
“No matter how I think about it, I don’t understand. Usman has no reason to do this.”
The driver struck his chest and cried out.
“My lord Baron! Please!”
Johan was so unruffled that it almost made the driver feel foolish.
Then another calm figure stepped down from the carriage.
It was Ilea.
She looked at Hakain’s head and spoke.
“So the rumors were true. Usman has some strange customs.”
Johan nodded.
“It’s an old tradition. Frightening guests who come to visit.”
Ilea smiled playfully.
“So, are you afraid?”
Johan gave a hollow laugh.
“I might even wet myself.”
The driver stared back and forth between them in disbelief.
Neither Johan nor Ilea showed the slightest tension.
The driver was utterly bewildered.
“H-Have the two of you been bewitched by demons...?”
Johan watched the driver for a moment before speaking.
“It seems I haven’t been considerate enough toward you.”
He bent down and picked up a stone from the ground.
Confusion spread across the driver’s face.
“What are you suddenly...”
Before the driver could finish, Johan threw the stone at the top of the gate.
The flying stone struck Hakain’s head directly.
A sickening impact rang out.
The head shattered in an instant.
Fragments scattered in every direction.
Ilea let out an impressed sound.
“Wow, nice shot.”
The driver was so startled that he fell from the driver’s seat.
“Oof!”
His face struck the ground. Something rolled before his eyes.
It was Hakain’s eyeball.
The driver screamed in horror.
Johan spoke calmly.
“Look closely.”
He held the eyeball before the driver’s face.
The driver squeezed his eyes shut.
Johan tightened his grip.
The eyeball shattered.
Crack-crack-crack!
The sound was somewhat strange.
It was not the sound of flesh being crushed, but something hard breaking apart.
Like a glass marble shattering.
The driver slowly opened his eyes.
Doubt mixed with the fear in his gaze.
“W-What is this...?”
Johan spoke.
“It isn’t a human eye. It’s merely a well-made replica.”
The driver warily examined the broken eyeball.
Looking closely, there were many strange details.
The eyeball truly was fake.
The driver whipped his head toward the gate.
“T-Then was the head hanging up there fake as well?”
Ilea replied, “That’s right. It was only a replica modeled after Mr. Hakain.”
The driver let out a dismayed cry.
“Why would they play such a prank?”
Johan answered, “Usman has a custom of frightening visiting guests.”
Ilea added, “It’s meant to crush the other party’s spirit.”
The driver could not believe it.
“Even if it is a custom, they should know who they are dealing with! How dare they commit such an outrage against the Watcher of Narak!”
The driver, who had been trembling in fear moments ago, abruptly changed his attitude.
He kicked the ground in anger.
Johan said, “Well, I agree with you. At the moment, I don’t understand Usman’s actions either.”
Usman might have been barbaric, but they were not completely lacking in common sense.
They understood the logic of strength.
They crushed the weak better than anyone, yet bowed their heads properly before the strong.
Their cunning had elevated mere pirates into nobles.
Yet there was no trace of that shrewdness now.
Usman had dared mock the Watcher of Narak.
They had insulted a member of the Council and one of the Kingdom’s most powerful figures.
The Usman of old would never have acted this way.
At least, that was what Johan thought.
Ilea nodded.
“I agree. From what I learned about various houses at the Count’s estate, Usman’s behavior is highly abnormal.”
They should have been groveling and currying favor, yet they were instead trying to challenge Johan.
Johan found Usman’s actions difficult to understand.
He clicked his tongue.
“What a nuisance. I already have enough to do.”
It was truly irritating.
Ilea spoke.
“Should we simply return?”
The driver immediately agreed.
“We should return, lodge a formal protest, and teach them a lesson! Please, get in at once!”
His voice rang through the reed field.
At the same time, a sinister rustle, rustle arose.
Suddenly, the presence of countless people could be felt.
Johan slowly looked around.
One by one, burly men emerged from between the tall reeds.
They wore leather armor and carried large machetes.
Every one of them had a vicious-looking face.
They looked like bandits to anyone who saw them.
They slowly approached from every direction.
Fear returned to the driver’s face.
Johan sighed.
Ilea spoke coldly.
“They’re crossing far too many lines.”
The driver shouted in a trembling voice.
“Back off at once! This is the Watcher of Narak! You’re making a grave mistake!”
A fierce-looking man approached the driver.
He casually shoved him aside.
The driver’s body was pushed away helplessly.
The fierce-looking man strode forward, stopping directly before Johan.
He looked down at Johan with a stiff expression.
He was as large as Gaf.
He had a certain imposing presence.
Ilea spoke.
“Killing them immediately would probably be premature, wouldn’t it?”
Johan answered without expression.
“I’d like to watch what they intend to do for a moment.”
The man grinned.
He drew a large machete from his waist.
Then he raised the blade.
Johan’s eyes met the man’s in midair.
The blood drained from the driver’s face.
“N-No!”
At the same time, the blade came down.
The enormous machete sliced through the air and fell toward the ground.
Johan’s hair fluttered from the force of it.
The blade passed him and struck the earth.
Thud!
A snapping sound followed.
Instead of Johan, the machete had cut through a rope hidden in the reed field.
As the taut rope was severed, both ends snapped away to either side from the tension.
It was a trigger.
Firecrackers erupted throughout the reed field.
The sky was covered in brilliant bursts of light.
The smell of gunpowder filled the air.
The fierce-looking man suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
“Your nerve is extraordinary! You are truly remarkable at such a young age!”
He stepped back several paces and bowed deeply.
Johan spoke without expression.
“Who are you?”
The man answered.
“I am Shylock Usman, captain of Usman’s Second Fleet. It is an honor to meet the Watcher of Narak.”
The moment he finished speaking, military music rang out from every direction.
All kinds of instruments and melodies echoed through the air.
The burly men hidden in the reed field came running out, dancing and singing.
Soldiers appeared one after another atop the high watchtowers.
Every one of them was playing an instrument.
They were all welcoming Johan.
The tightly shut gates opened wide.
A banquet was already in full swing in the vast forecourt.
Countless people ate, drank, and shouted.
All their eyes turned toward Johan.
Everyone rose from their seats and waved their arms.
“Oh, is that the Watcher of Narak?”
“He really is small and young.”
“But his guts are no joke! I bet his cock is much bigger than yours!”
“Ha ha! Let’s find out! Bring women! Tonight, let’s have a wild time with our noble Watcher!”
Crude remarks erupted from all around.
It was their own form of welcome.
Johan spoke to Shylock.
“Where is Hakain?”
Shylock pointed inside the castle.
“He is enjoying the banquet. He is quite a fun fellow. Watcher, please come inside as well.”
Johan hesitated briefly before walking forward.
Ilea followed behind him.
With every step she took, admiring cries rose from all around.
“Is she a noble from the Royal Capital? You can tell from her appearance alone.”
“Is she a doll? Is she really a person?”
“The Watcher won’t spare a single glance for the women here now.”
“What are you talking about? Women born and raised on the coast are fiery as hell! They have a flavor greenhouse flowers could never match!”
“Ha ha! That’s true enough!”
Despite their attention, Johan and Ilea showed no reaction.
They simply continued forward in silence.
Ilea smiled softly.
“There’s a familiar scent here.”
Johan looked at her.
“...Could it be Demonic Energy?”
Just as Ilea was about to answer, a familiar voice spoke.
“You have arrived, my lord Baron.”
Hakain approached Johan with a drink in one hand and a tomahawk in the other.
He was thoroughly drunk.
His face was flushed red.
Johan spoke.
“It seems you are enjoying yourself.”
Hakain hiccupped.
“Yes, well, I was observing the situation first. There were too many uncertain factors to act alone...”
Johan’s brow furrowed.
“Is there something strange about this place?”
Hakain scratched his head.
“Rather than hearing my explanation, it would be quicker for you to meet Viscount Usman yourself, my lord Baron. Viscount Usman is quite an unusual person.”
Johan fell into thought as he walked.
‘Viscount Usman?’
No one particularly memorable came to mind.
Just as he considered it, Ilea’s voice reached him.
“Oh, this is certainly interesting.”
Ilea’s gaze was fixed upon a platform.
A bald man wearing an eyepatch stood on it.
He looked down at Johan and spoke.
“I am Nedval Usman, head of House Usman.”
An unusual light filled Ilea’s eyes.
She smiled with interest.
“It’s a good thing we arrived before Wolfgang. That was close.”
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