Dream Life Vol 3 Chapter 6.2: “Rawcliffe’s Deputy”

　My father bowed his head once and said, “I am sorry, but this is non-negotiable.”

“This is the culprit who attacked our Lockhart family. I know from further questioning that there is a mastermind behind this. We must report this to His Excellency the Governor in Welburn. As witnesses, we… I’m going to take him with us.” (Matt)

　His eyes narrowed slightly.

　I had discussed this with my father beforehand and asked him to be a little more forceful. My father is not normally fond of such tactics, but this time he says that his family was targeted, so he reluctantly goes along with my idea.

　Boyette said in a loud voice that matched his body, “I will make the decision! You may report it to His Excellency!”

　Furthermore, when my father tried to utter a rebuttal, Boyette interrupted my father’s words, saying in a louder voice, “You are insulting me! You are making up a story that you were attacked by bandits!!”

　Guy’s color changed at these words.

　As expected, he did not raise his voice in protest, leaving his lord, my father aside, but he sends a murderous glance at Boyette. To my eyes, it looked as if killing intent was erupting from his body. Not only that, but the eyes of Enos and the five village patrol youths behind him were equally steely.

(Guy’s loyalty is as strong as ever. But when it comes to this, I’m glad Byron was there. Because Byron, who has experience in aristocratic etiquette, can keep his cool when he says things like this… However, this deputy named Boyette is worried that he may become suspect? Or are they being bullish because he thinks he is?) (Zack)

　Boyette says, “I can’t negotiate this,” but something is wrong. Occasionally, his eyes swim and his gaze are not steady. Upon closer inspection, he glances at Guy, who is behind his father, and seems to be concerned about him.

　Boyette, perhaps unable to bear the stares of his father and Guy, wanders around in front of his father and says that he will appeal to the Frontier Count if he violates his authority, and furthermore, he talks about arresting him.

(It’s true that he’s worried about Guy’s gaze, but since my father is here, he should know that there’s no chance of him being harmed… Are his hands shaking? I see…) (Zack)

　As I observed Boyette closely, I noticed that he seemed to be desperately trying to keep his hands from trembling, and I realized that he was a timid person, contrary to his appearance.

　It is difficult to say what exactly is wrong with him, but for a man who looks like a big man, he has a slight amateurishness in his gait, eye movement, etc., which gives him a “lightness” that is hard to imagine from his physical appearance.

　Looking at his awkward movements, Sharon, who has experience in actual combat, looks much more like a well-trained soldier.

　What’s more, he is oblivious to the fact that he is the center of attention. As we were bringing in nearly two dozen bandits, merchants passing through the gates and onlookers who had heard the commotion were looking at us from a distance, but he seems to have been so incited that he lost sight of his surroundings and forgot that he was the center of attention.

(He seems to be a small man, unlike what he appears to be. I would be surprised if this was an act, but there is no point in playing the role of an angry fool in this situation… However, such a timid person would not dare to do such a big thing as an assassination. Is he being paid? Or is it someone holding his weakness?) (Zack)

　My father looked troubled and told him, “Mr. Boyette, I this is a bit of a poor place for you to be acting like that,” implicitly telling him to be careful about what people around him were seeing.

　Interestingly, the onlookers around him looked stunned, but no one looked surprised.

　They seem to know that Boyette has this kind of personality.

(It seems he’s definitely a timid novice actor. But is he a deputy by association? If so, this is supposed to be an important base. …The Frontier Count Roswell is supposed to be an excellent ruler. Maybe there’s a reason for this. …Now is not the time to be thinking about it. We have to do something about this situation…) (Zack)

　At his father’s words, Boyette finally realizes that he was acting conspicuous and blushes even more. He then told us to head for the gate guard’s station near the castle gate.

　My father nodded at that and walked behind Boyette. I took the opportunity to talk to him about a way out of the situation.

“It seems he feels guilty. Please be more aggressive here. I’ll tell Guy and Byron to stay on your side, and you can continue to demand Maddock’s custody.” (Zack)

　My father asks, “Is that all you want?” He asks back. I nod in agreement and give further instructions to Guy and Byron.

“You two, stand behind father and release killing intent. You know that man is a timid man. He won’t be able to stand for two close sources of killing intent.” (Zack)

　Guy nodded silently with a stern expression on his face, as if he was angry. Byron grinned and nodded with an evil-looking smile, saying, “Master Zacharias is a terrible man, too.”

　We decided to wait outside the station, and after only ten minutes or so, father came out.

“Lord Boyette gave his approval. He will fit Maddock with a slave collar.” (Matt)

　My father explained with a subtly unconvinced look on his face.

　The bandits, except for Maddock, will be handed over at the station and detained, but since my father has told them about the mastermind and that he might just be a broken mercenary, it will take time to confirm the situation, and it will take time for the reward to be determined. It was said that it would take several days.

　Since we are not in need of money at the moment and plan to stay in Welburn for more than ten days, we asked him to contact us during that time.

　Maddock, however, was to be placed in a criminal slave collar to prevent him from escaping, pending final punishment as of now.

　Perhaps thinking that the story would not be discussed in Boyette’s case, my father instructs the soldiers who first responded not to attempt to destroy the evidence by executing him.

“The other bandits, except for Maddock, should have been ordered by the Governor to be interrogated or transported to Welburn. Do not execute them casually…” (Matt)

　Just as my father finished explaining this, Boyette came out of the guardroom with an exhausted look on his face.

　His shoulders slumped, his eyes were glazed, and he seemed unable to do anything but nod when his followers tried to talk to him. Furthermore, when he recognizes Guy and Byron, he backsteps unconsciously.

(Is it possible for him to become so exhausted after being exposed to Guy and Byron’s killing intent? Or is he in despair because he handed Maddock over to us?) (Zack)

　I don’t know if I looked strange, but Byron gave me a brief explanation of what had happened inside.

　He said that the moment Guy and Byron released their killing intent, Boyette started wincing and shaking. He then agreed to letting us take Maddock with us before sitting down on a nearby chair.

“As Master Zacharias said, I unleashed a real killing shot with the intention of killing him. I was a little curious to see how far he could endure it, but I didn’t realize he couldn’t endure it at all. …Between you and me, it seems that Sir Boyette was slightly incontinent. The squire was very attentive and took him to the back, so… he must have changed the trousers he was wearing.” (Guy)

　I couldn’t believe it and muttered, “I hope you really just hit him with a killing intent?”

　Byron nodded deeply and replied, “Of course.”

“Mr. Jakes seemed very angry, so we kept our hands behind our back so he wouldn’t make the mistake of putting his hands on his sword.” (Zack)

　I still couldn’t believe it, and muttered, “No matter what, the other person is a knight. He is not just any child…”

　Byron nodded at my words and in a quiet voice told me what he thought.

“Probably he doesn’t have any real combat experience. He’s probably never been exposed to the killing intent of a monster.” (Byron)

　Even I would have goosebumps if I were to be hit by the killing intent of Guy, who is like a sword with a hidden blade, and Byron, who is over two meters tall and strong inside and out. However, if the young people in our village were old enough to participate in training, they would not show such an appalling appearance that they would become incontinent.

　As I listened to his story, one question remained.

　Why would such a timid person help them attack us?

　One possible explanation is that the mastermind holds a weakness of his, but from the mastermind’s point of view, bringing in a man of this caliber would be a hindrance. Of course, they would not entrust him with important jobs, but even so, it is easy to imagine him jumping out of his horse when it’s out of control, as he was this time.

(…Maybe he doesn’t have many friends, or maybe he doesn’t grasp Boyette’s personality. There’s something about him I don’t know… If I threaten Boyette, I might be able to find out who’s behind it, but I’m dealing with a knight of the same rank as my father. Besides, he has been entrusted by the Frontier Count to be the deputy of this city with his credentials. It’s too much of a risk to mess with Boyette just on the word of Maddock, who is nothing more than a bandit…) (Zack)

　While I was thinking about that, the bandits other than Maddock were handed over and we were ready to leave.

　My father ordered Enos to leave and we entered the city of Rawcliffe.