Chapter 13: Dennis’s Weapon and the Bandits

The royal capital of Montal, situated east of Beneshof, lay approximately ten days’ walk away. Embarking on their journey, Dennis and Egmont ventured forth alone, leaving behind Amelia, Dennis’s younger sister, as she was unable to endure the physical demands of a long trip.

They crossed the Yusla River, reaching the opposite bank via ferry, and then proceeded eastward towards Barras and Mynmey. The majority of the towns marked on the map surpassed Beneshof in size and population.

Nevertheless, such towns were scarce, with numerous settlements along the road being small villages not even designated on the map. While they traveled, Dennis and Egmont lodged in these villages.

For Dennis, this journey was not a comfortable one. He was accompanied by Egmont, who hurried ahead with a gloomy expression. His father hardly responded to Dennis when he tried to talk to him, which was extremely frustrating.

“Can’t you at least tell me who big brother’s future bride is?”

“She is the daughter of Sir Gustav, the commander of the Second Cavalry Unit,”

“Doesn’t that amount to marrying into an influential family?”

When it comes to the Second Cavalry Unit, it was considered a prestigious military division. Its commander held a higher position than even the frontier lords. He should also be a baron.

From an outsider’s perspective, it would be nothing short of an enviable matter. However, for Egmont, it felt like an act of betrayal. Egmont had incurred debts just so he could send Geralt to the prestigious academy in the capital, hoping that he would become a distinguished lord of the Beneshof territory.

On the eighth day, when they reached a place called Darius, a city under Duke Baltzer’s rule, Dennis noticed a lurking presence trailing them from behind.

“Someone’s following us,” Dennis whispered.

“What?… Bandits, perhaps?” 

Egmont swiftly turned around. Two dubious men gave him a flustered look before one of them whistled. It appeared to be a signal for their companions.

Suddenly, three men emerged from the sprawling coniferous forest on the left side of the road. Their unkempt beards and filthy clothes suggested that they were a bunch of good-for-nothings who led a rough life.

The bandits approached with crude laughter.

“Hey, you guys. Hand over anything valuable.”

Egmont immediately regretted not having prepared a sword for Dennis as well. All Dennis had brought as a weapon were his usual makeshift staff made from the weeping willow tree and a knife.

Dennis set down his backpack and took up his staff, readying himself. Then came Egmont’s instructions.

“You take care of the two in behind. I’ll hold off the other three.”

Dennis held his staff high in a high stance before charging towards the two bandits.

“Ooooh!”

Caught off guard by the unexpected assault, the two bandits hastily drew their swords. Dennis swung his staff downward at the man on the left. The man tried to defend himself, but it was too late. The staff struck his shoulder, causing a bone-cracking sensation that lingered in Dennis’s hand.

The Miyasaka style, like the revealed reality style, was a practical swordsmanship technique. The speed of Dennis’s downward strike was unlike anything the bandits had ever seen before.

The other bandit let out a cry and thrust his sword forward in an attack. It seemed he had some experience in not just brawls but also sword fighting and killing. It was a well-aimed thrust aimed at Dennis’s hip.

Dennis swung down from above, aiming to knock the opponent’s sword aside. The clash of the weapons reverberated with a metallic resonance, and the staff recoiled ever so slightly, extending forward towards the enemy’s throat.

“Ugh!”

The staff landed cleanly on the opponent’s throat. This was the Miyasaka style’s “sweeping thrust”. With the Miyasaka style’s basic high stance, the defensive move involved sweeping down from above.

Dennis swiftly drew his knife and pressed it against the fallen man’s neck. After a momentary hesitation, he made a decisive cut. He then delivered a finishing blow to the other bandit writhing on the ground, who had been previously struck in the shoulder.

“Ugh.”

Dennis grimaced, avoiding the blood that spattered towards him. The realization that he had just killed someone washed over him after he saw the blood. He struggled to suppress the overwhelming sensation that threatened to freeze his thoughts.

Under different circumstances, he might have considered capturing them instead. However, he had to assist Egmont as soon as possible. He looked back and witnessed Egmont enduring the three bandits’ onslaught, fighting back despite being overwhelmed.

Dennis dashed forward quietly. After getting close enough to the enemy, he leaped with full force. In mid-air, Dennis poised himself in a high stance and brought his staff down upon the head of a bandit who was about to slash Egmont.

A dull thud resonated as the skull caved in under the impact. The man crumpled to the ground.

“You bastard!”

One of the bandits shouted before lunging at Dennis. A sweeping slash came from the side, aiming to mow down Dennis. In response, the staff swung down from above, meeting the sword.

“Shaa!” 

Dennis activated his power, and the staff and the sword clashed with a whooshing sound. In the next moment, a cracking noise echoed as the enemy’s sword snapped in two as if it were the rustiest of blades.

“Hyaa!” 

Dennis pursued without mercy. Swiftly, he brought down the raised staff upon the bandit’s neck. The man attempted to block the staff with his current shortened sword. However, the forceful blow drove the sword and the staff into his throat, crushing his airway.

The man’s eyes rolled back, and his lifeless body collapsed. Dennis shifted his gaze to the last remaining bandit. It was at this moment that the Briones family’s heirloom sword pierced through the bandit’s chest.

Egmont, breathing heavily and his shoulders raising up and down, looked at the fallen corpses of the bandits. Out of the five, Dennis had taken down four, and he did that all with just a staff.

“Incredible swordsmanship,” 

Egmont muttered under his breath. However, his words went unheard by anyone. Dennis sat on the ground while wearing a dazed expression on his face.

Egmont decided to leave Dennis alone for a while. In the meantime, he started dragging the bodies to the side of the road, tidying up the scene.

“Hah, they don’t have anything valuable.”

The bandits had a small pouch, but it only contained small change—brass and copper coins. Egmont has collected them for now, bundling them together in one pouch and hanging it from his belt.

Watching his father’s actions, Dennis let out a deep sigh.

“Which one is the bandit, really.”

Through his father’s actions, Dennis felt the insignificance of life in this world. Finally, a surge of determination to stand up emerged within him. Dennis rose to his feet, gathering the unbroken swords and carrying them on his shoulder.

Upon their arrival in the next village, Dennis and his father reported the bandits’ incident to the village chief. Someone had to bury the bodies.

And on the tenth day, they reached the royal capital of Montal. The spire of Montal Castle came into view first, followed by the sight of the town’s streets. The city expanded in all directions from the central hub of the royal castle.

The main thoroughfare was paved with cobblestones, and bustled with horse-drawn carriages. Most of the buildings were made of brick, except for the royal castle, which was constructed from stone. Surrounded by high walls and a moat, the royal castle covered an area of approximately fifty hectares, equivalent to that famous theme park in Chiba.

The castle in the heart of the city, known as the White Swan Castle due to its magnificent appearance, was also made of white marble. It housed the king’s abode, offices, an audience chamber, a council room, and guard quarters.

Surrounding the royal castle were the mansions of nobles, forming the noble district. The Briones family, holding the rank of baronet, should have had their mansion in the noble district as well, but it was nowhere to be found.

They had never been wealthy enough to build a mansion in the noble district. It was a sad reality.

For the time being, they found an inn and rested there.

The following morning, they paid a visit to the headquarters of the “Royal Guards” to meet Geralt. They requested an audience with him and were directed to the waiting room in the headquarters.

Geralt, dressed in his military uniform, appeared when he was called.

“Father, Dennis, it’s been a while,”

Originally, Geralt had a shy and rustic demeanor to him, but it seemed that city life had refined him. Even from Dennis’s perspective, Geralt had transformed into a handsome young man.

“I received your letter and came flying,” 

Egmont’s words made Geralt’s face cloud over.

They went to a nearby resting area outside the headquarters, where Egmont and Geralt began their conversation. It was a place where soldiers took breaks between training sessions, and at the moment, there was no one else around.

According to Geralt’s account, the other party’s family only had one heir, a daughter named Cassandra. He didn’t want to share any more details with Dennis; hence, the latter had to wait in a slightly secluded area until Egmont and Geralt’s conversation was finished.

Carried by the wind, Dennis caught snippets of conversation containing words like “heir registration” “royal family” and “debt”. While he didn’t fully grasp the meaning of the first two, the mention of “debt” painted a clear picture in his mind.

It seemed that Geralt didn’t want to inherit a territory burdened with debt. Dennis knew that if he were in his brother’s shoes, he might have had the same thoughts.

Afterwards, it appeared that Gustav, the bride’s father, joined the conversation as well. On that evening, after they returned to their lodgings, Egmont went out, leaving Dennis alone at the inn.

Egmont seemed to have returned after Dennis had already fallen asleep. When Dennis woke up the next morning, the room was filled with the scent of alcohol. Egmont, who woke up around noon, left Dennis behind once again.

Growing tired of staying in the inn alone, Dennis ventured out into the town, aimlessly strolling through the shopping district. He planned to buy souvenirs for his sister before returning. The row of shops lined up before him evoked memories of Japan.

Each shop in the town may have been small, but they were filled with goods that were absent in the town of Beneshof. Jewelry stores, apothecaries, restaurants, thrift shops, fruit stands, fabric merchants, tailors, blacksmiths, weapon and armor shops—various types of establishments lined the streets.

Dennis entered a weapon and armor shop, intending to sell a sword he had retrieved from one of the bandits.

“I’d like to sell this sword,” 

He spoke to a man, who appeared to be the shop owner.

“Let me have a look at it.”

The owner said, taking the sword out of its sheath to inspect it.

“This is a sword mass-produced in Kum, isn’t it?” 

Kum was a mining city situated southeast of the capital. It was a city where metal ores mined from actual mines, rather than labyrinth-produced ones, were refined and processed.

As expected, Dennis was haggled down to a low price. Nevertheless, he ended up with two large silver coins, so he began searching for any usable swords among the shop’s stock.

The price of a good-quality sword seemed to be several gold coins. It was far beyond what Dennis could afford. Reluctant to give up on acquiring a new weapon, he wandered around the shop. That’s when his eyes caught sight of a barrel tucked away in the corner, filled with a dozen or so sticks.

Inside the barrel were mostly junk items, like worn-out clubs or spear handles without their heads. However, one of them caught his interest.

It was a black stick, about ninety centimeters long. Dennis wondered if it had been coated with something, but it appeared to have a naturally black wooden surface. It seemed like it was made from a type of wood that Dennis had never seen before.

“Uncle, what is this?”

Dennis picked up the black stick; he was surprised by its heavy weight, which surpassed even the practice staff he usually wielded.

“Oh, that one? That’s said to be the sacred staff used by Saint Azrul.”

“Come on, you must be joking. There’s no way something like that would be mixed in with the junk items in a barrel.”

The owner grinned.

“You saw through it well. It’s just a mysterious stick. It’s known for being sturdy and heavy, but it was too heavy for anyone to use effectively.”

Apparently, some people attempted to attach a blade to this stick, trying to turn it into a weapon like a polearm (naginata) or a field sword (nodachi). However, the weight of the stick on the handle was too much, resulting in extremely poor balance.

Although this stick was made of wood, it definitely wouldn’t float in water. It weighed about three times as much as a longsword. Nevertheless, Dennis was fond of it and inquired about its price from the shopkeeper.

“How about one gold coin?” 

“That’s too high. Judging by the fact that it has been sitting here for quite some time, it probably wouldn’t find a buyer,” Dennis remarked.

The owner’s temple twitched slightly.

“You’re quite astute. How about four large silver coins?”

A full-fledged negotiation ensued from there, eventually settling on two large silver coins. Dennis decided to name the stick the “Vajra Staff” and made up his mind to use it in the labyrinth.

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TN: Baronet title is above a knight and bellow a baron.