Published at 22nd of November 2020 04:51:58 PM
Chapter 226
Translator: Kell Editor: Weasalopes
The Fedor Gang
The Fedor gang was a group of bandits led by a man named Fedor, and were known for being elusive . Robbery was their main business, but they would not hesitate to resort to kidnapping, smuggling, or even jailbreaking, if it meant money . But except under extreme circumstances, they didn’t commit murder, as that would result in the authorities searching for them relentlessly, compromising their elusiveness .
They committed robberies in urban places . Normally, they’d hide in the city and gather around using secret codes . The gang had roots mostly in the major cities of Jarazack .
「Is everyone here?」Fedor asked . He was a well-dressed man about 170 centimeters tall .
「Yes, Sir!」a man dressed in a craftsman attire answered .
The other ten or so men wore normal commoner clothes, while some had hunter attires on . Their specialty was disguising and makeup . Mikhail’s men who were after the gang were skilled as well, but the bandits planned to completely transform themselves before making their next move .
「We’ve discussed the plan before, and nothing’s changed . After capturing the target, we’ll throw them into our hideout until delivery to Ludancia . They say we can kill her, but we want to avoid doing the dirty work as much as possible . Best if all the hate is directed to Ludancia . 」
The fire from the hearth was the only source of light in the room . All the men nodded and were about to move when a news came .
「Boss, our scout just returned . 」
「The one we sent to Scholarzard?」
「Yeah . Apparently, the target left Scholarzard and is heading here in Raidzard . 」
「What?」
The gang was staying in a suburban city called Raidzard, the closest city to Scholarzard . Anyone going to Jarazack from Scholarzard would pass through here .
The plan was to enter Scholarzard by the end of the day .
「Hmm . They’re heading back to Jarazack, huh? That’s perfect, then . 」Fedor considered this a golden opportunity . 「All right . We move at midnight . 」
They paid for a large room and a single room . Needless to say, Hikaru would take the single room with Drake, and the girls—Lavia, Paula, Catherine, and Luka—would stay in the large room .
After having dinner, the girls returned to their room and were getting ready to sleep . There were four beds in the room, each one of them sitting on theirs .
「Luka… What are you planning to do once you see Claude?」Lavia asked, embracing a pillow .
Sitting at the edge of her bed, Luka cast her eyes down .
「I don’t know . I was really happy about the marriage, but now I’m starting to have doubts . Strange, isn’t it? I dragged everyone into trouble . 」
「It’s not your fault . 」Catherine said, sitting beside Luka, not hiding her anger towards Claude . The matter at hand seemed to have deepened their friendship . 「This is all Claude’s fault for getting too cocky . 」
「Was he really acting that strange?」Lavia asked .
「Yeah . I’m sure you’ll get pissed too if you saw that guy . When I arrived at the mansion, I spotted him with three women . 」
「Oh…」
Claude’s reputation was taking a nosedive .
「By the way, what is up with you?」Catherine asked Lavia this time .
「Me?」
「Isn’t Hikaru your boyfriend? So why—」
Catherine’s eyes darted at Paula . She was taken aback, not expecting it .
「How could he add another girl to your party?」
「H-Hikaru-sama and I don’t have that kind of relationship . 」
「There!」
「What?!」
「The way you call him! Did he tell you to so he could stroke his own ego?!」
「Th-That’s not true! I just look up to him…」
「Hikaru’s just as bad! How dare he make eyes at other girls when he already has Lavia!」
Catherine was really heating up .
「Calm down . 」
「Ah, I’m sorry, Lavia . I know you’re the one suffering the most . 」
「No, you’re wrong . I’m happy to have Paula by my side . 」
「Lavia…」There was pity in Catherine’s voice .
「Lavia…」Paula felt glad .
「All right . I got it . 」Catherine stood up .
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「Where are you going?」
「Isn’t it obvious? I’ll go get Hikaru and interrogate him . 」
「P-Please don’t!」Paula protested .
Lavia stayed calm . 「Hikaru’s not in his room . 」
「What? Why? It’s already late . 」
「He said he had something to do and won’t be back until morning . 」
Lavia knew that when Hikaru said he had something to do in the middle of the night, it meant taking care of any trouble that might befall them .
「Something he has to do… and he won’t be back until morning…」
Imagining nasty things, Catherine’s face turned beet reed . Needless to say, she was hugely mistaken .
The room was dark, the fire in the hearth the only source of light . As the flames were dying, Fedor tossed some more wood . Then he heard footsteps .
「That was fast . Did you finish the job?」
He glanced at the entrance, but he couldn’t see well in the dark . However, Fedor was sure of one thing . No one among his men wore a silver mask .
「Who the fuck are you?」
「No need to introduce myself . I took out all your men . Six main guys and three backups . Surprisingly few . 」
「………」
Warily stepping away from the fireplace, Fedor slowly reached for the dagger in his coat .
He’s lying, the man thought . The guys moved out just half an hour ago . Taking them all out in such a short amount of time is impossible . The only one who can do that is someone who knows everything about our plan or one with detection abilities who could pinpoint the exact locations of my men . The fact that he knows their exact number means someone betrayed us .
Fedor thought one of his men turned traitor and divulged information about their operation to this stupid masked bastard .
They must’ve split up and this guy came here to stop me from escaping . Hahaha . Too bad . You got one thing wrong .
「I want to know what you’re after . 」the masked person asked, seemingly unaware of the thoughts running through Fedor’s mind . 「Why do you want to kidnap Luka Lordgrad Ludancia?」
「Heh . Isn’t it obvious? We’re going to sell her . 」
「So she’s got quite the bounty on her head . But your men didn’t sound satisfied with just abducting her . They planned to assault her as well . 」
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「Damn it . I told them we have to keep her alive . I guess they thought they could do anything as long as she lives . 」
「Okay, I get it . 」the masked guy nodded for some reason .
「You get what?」
「So you approve of your men’s actions . 」
「Hahahahaha! Do you have any idea who we are? We’re the Fedor gang! One look and we can silence crying kids!」
「More like you’re a bunch of halfwits who can only make kids cry . 」
Fedor’s eyes narrowed .
「Provoking me was a bad move . You seem to be mistaken . 」
「Mistaken about what?」
Did you think subduing all my men will make me surrender without a fight? Think again .
「I, Fedor, am the leader of the gang . Which means I’m the strongest of them all!」
Fedor dashed forward, quickly closing the distance between him and the masked guy . From his pocket, he drew a dagger . The masked guy leapt to the side to dodge the thrust .
Ha! Idiot!
A huge movement was just what Fedor was waiting for .
「Once you run, you’re a sitting duck—」
Fedor specialized in Throwing . He threw his dagger towards the direction the masked guy jumped to . He was skilled and never missed his mark .
「…What?」
But he stopped before he could let go of his weapon . There was no one there . He quickly surveyed his surroundings, but he couldn’t feel anyone’s presence in the room . He almost wondered if he was imagining things .
「H-How…?」
「How did I disappear?」
Fedor heard the voice come from right behind him . He quickly turned around, but found no one .
「D-Damn it! Where the hell are you?!」
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Silence .
「It must be magic! In that case, I have this! I implore you, Air Spirits, find the pitiful fool hiding in the shadows—」
Touching a ring on his right hand, Fedor chanted the spell . The ring flashed .
「Nothing?!」
The man bought this magic item called a Detection Ring for a hefty sum . He used it to find infiltrators in their hideouts or to search for hidden rooms . It never failed him before .
「Hmm . Is that an item used to find someone hiding with Stealth?」
Fedor yelped . Once again, the voice came from directly behind him . And just like before, there was no one there .
「A demon! You’re a demon, aren’t you?! That explains the creepy mask!」
「I actually like this mask . Anyway, I just wanted to find out the truth . Knowing that Ludancia is involved in all this is more than enough . 」
「There you are!」
Without looking, the man hurled his dagger towards the direction of the voice . But alas, it hit no one and instead stuck itself into a cupboard .
「Ha…ha… hahaha…」Beads of sweat appeared on Fedor’s forehead . 「In that case—」
He reached for his ring, and screamed . A blade had pierced his hand .
「Whoa, whoa . Were you planning to use an offensive spell this time? Or perhaps a smokescreen? You were thinking of escaping while you had the chance, but you’re not going anywhere . 」
「Y-You bastard…」
「You’re aware that I can kill you if I really want to, right?」
The mask was right before him, its mouth curved into a smile . A demon . He’s a demon in a man’s clothing!
「I didn’t really plan to do more experiments, but might as well . You’ll be my test subject . If you stay put, I’ll hand you over to the authorities alive . 」
Experiment . A demon’s experiment . He says he’ll keep me alive, but I’m sure he’ll make me suffer a fate worse than death!
Color left Fedor’s face and he collapsed .
「Huh? He’s out cold?」
A while later, the sound of a boy sighing in disappointment came from the room . Fedor never realized that his opponent was just a young boy .