People glared at Carlson, their eyes filled with resentment and hatred, but none dared to step forward.
Squinting in confusion, I closely observed their actions; they were shaking their legs and grinding their teeth, clearly frightened of something.
“Ha…”
Are they scared?
Behind the hatred in their eyes lay a deep-rooted fear.
Even though Carlson’s limbs were practically cut off, they were still terrified.
As I continued to think in order to understand them better, I came up with a pretty convincing hypothesis.
It was like imprinting the concept of a master on a beast.
Carlson must have instilled a sense of hierarchy in them through fear to compel them to obey his commands without daring to bite him.
‘If they’re this scared, he must have done it.’
Resting my chin on my right hand, I tilted my head.
‘What should I do…’
This wasn’t exactly an issue born from dwelling in self-loathing; I had already resolved to harden my heart before arriving here.
It was more of an annoyance, like, ‘Do I have to feed them everything?’
As I watched them nodding here and there, the Nameless, who had handed Carlson over to me earlier, tapped my shoulder.
“What do you need?”
“Master, may I go down just once?”
“Nameless, are you sure?”
Could the Nameless really solve this situation?
I looked at him with a somewhat skeptical gaze.
“Yes, it might be a rough approach, but if you permit it, I will try to advance the situation.”
Hmm, a rough approach, huh…
It was a bit concerning, but I figured he must have a plan, so I nodded.
“Fine, do as you like.”
“Thank you.”
The Nameless, nodding slightly, immediately jumped down and moved towards the crowd.
…
Carlson had been spaced out since his blood vessels were severed.
Maybe to wake him up, the Nameless pulled out a basket from who knows where and splattered its contents all over Carlson.
Carlson’s neat attire was now covered in filth, making him look no different from the impoverished folks living here.
“Pfft, what—cough! What is this?”
Hmm, was the shock so great that he lost his memory? Or could it be that he suddenly got doused in filth? Carlson coughed repeatedly as he glared at his surroundings.
The Nameless, displeased with Carlson’s reaction, frowned slightly, tossed the basket aside, and slowly approached him.
“Still can’t grasp the situation?”
Lowering himself to Carlson’s eye level, the Nameless grabbed him by the nape of his neck.
In the next moment, his hand shot up, and Carlson’s head snapped to the side.
Whack—
“Wha—!”
Whack—
“Do you even know who I am—”
Whack—
“W-Wait a second—”
Whack—
The Nameless repeatedly swung his hand with an icy glare that had never been shown before.
Until the resolve in his eyes was crushed.
…
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Carlson began rubbing his hands together, looking pitiful like a fly.
Finally releasing Carlson’s neck, the Nameless turned to the gathered poor people.
“Do you know why you’ve been so scared of this pathetic guy?”
“You have no power, meaning you lack the strength to protect your loved ones.”
“Thus, you’ve been exploited by someone inferior to you.”
The residents of the slums reacted differently to the Nameless’s words.
Some showed anger, while others nodded in agreement.
“But!”
The Nameless slowly looked around before pointing at me on the roof and speaking.
…Me?
“If you all follow ‘my’ master from now on,”
“You will never have to bow your heads to such trash again.”
“You can avoid humiliation.”
“You won’t have to experience the terrible pain of watching your loved ones suffer.”
The Nameless pointed at Carlson.
“I’ll give you another chance to unleash your hatred; this time, don’t disappoint my master.”
After finishing, the Nameless turned and jumped back up to the roof.
“Master, it’s over.”
With a refreshing smile, the Nameless settled beside me.
In contrast, my expression was frozen in place.
How should I react to this aggressive side of the Nameless?
…I had no idea.
I just nodded.
“…Yeah.”
…
“Augh!!!!”
Carlson screamed as if his throat would tear.
Of course, I had initiated this situation and permitted the Nameless’s rough behavior, but seeing it directly was truly uncomfortable.
I wiped my face with my hand.
Watching this was mentally exhausting.
I decided to take a break until it was over.
“…Call me when it’s all done.”
“Yes, Master.”
Patting the Nameless on the shoulder, who would have to deal with the fallout, I entered the empty inn room and threw myself onto the bed.
…
After lounging on the bed for a while, the Nameless knocked on the door.
“Master, it’s all over.”
Already?!
I quickly stuffed a strawberry I held into my mouth, chewed rapidly, and swallowed.
“Come in.”
“Yes.”
The Nameless opened the door and entered, staring at my mouth for a while before breaking into a grin.
What’s with the smile?
Feeling strangely displeased, I frowned.
Anyway, that’s not the important part.
“So… what happened to Carlson?”
“As you instructed, his body has been buried in a suitable place, without a gravestone.”
I nodded.
“Well done. Are the people still there?”
“Yes, about three have left, but the rest are still holding their ground.”
It’s surprisingly few who fled after seeing that scene.
Hmm, that’s reassuring.
“Then, let’s go.”
As we stepped outside the tavern, around ten people were staring at me with determined expressions.
Hmm, it’s more pressure than I expected…
Should I tell them to turn back now?
Contemplating whether I should seriously advise them to leave while biting my lip, the Nameless approached with a small wooden box.
What’s this all of a sudden?
“What’s this?”
At my question, the Nameless beamed with pride.
“It seemed concerning for you not to be able to see everyone’s faces, so I brought a pedestal.”
What?
“…A pedestal?”
Did the Nameless think my awkward expression was due to my height?
…I should be grateful for the thoughtfulness of the Nameless, but I feel oddly annoyed.
However, I couldn’t reject the Nameless’s sincerity, so I sighed and stepped onto the pedestal, causing a few people to make deflating sounds.
I whirled around sharply to look at them, but they appeared to be whistling awkwardly at the sky.
This oblivious Nameless kept grinning with satisfaction, leaving me unable to scold him.
My face flushed for no reason.
Aren’t I the master and the leader? Shouldn’t I be treated like this?
…That thought filled my mind, but I didn’t have the courage to voice it.
Fanning my flushed face with my hand, I spoke.
Well, I originally planned to deliver a grand speech…
But nothing fitting was coming to mind, so I decided to open the floor for questions.
“If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”
Having finished speaking, I looked around for questions, and that familiar red-haired young man raised his hand.
Hmm, he seems to stand out a lot.
Nodding lightly as an invitation to ask, he timidly began to speak.
“Um, my little brother isn’t here… is my brother excluded from this?”
“I will protect your families, so don’t worry about that.”
“Th-Thanks!”
“Now, are there any more questions?”
Perhaps because he had already asked a question, this time many hands shot up.
I slowly scanned the group, resting my gaze on a brown-haired girl who had chuckled earlier when I stepped on the pedestal.
“U-Um, if it’s not too much trouble, could we know what kind of place we’re entering this time…?”
Contrary to my expectation of a bizarre question, she surprisingly got to the point.
But this is also important, and since I planned to explain it later, I decided to postpone answering.
“Hmm, I’ll tell you that after I’ve answered all the questions, is there anything else?”
The girl scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously.
“Oh! Yes! May I ask what your name is?”
Just as I opened my mouth to say yes, the Nameless stepped forward and announced loudly.
“How dare you call ‘my’ master by her name? That’s a hundred years too early.”
Something about the emphasis on ‘my’ when they called me felt odd, but I decided it wasn’t worth worrying about.
The Nameless opened his mouth again.
“You should address her as Master Cheonma.”
?
“N-Nameless?”
What do you mean by that?
The Nameless looked at me with a blank expression, tilting his head.
“Yes? Wasn’t it decided?”
If there were a mouse hole, I’d want to crawl into it.
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