Vermillion

- The story goes back a few days.

Southern part of the Lilleil region.

Further south than the peripheral village of Laneza, behind the roaming deep woods of ferocious beasts.

The inhabitants of the village call it [Deep (Abyss)], into a dangerous realm that never sets foot.

Hiddenly, 'it' is standing.

……

Rivers flowing as they serpent through the tree sea.

The canoe progresses as it glides through the surface.

Shin, in a sobering tranquility, from time to time, only the sounds of the different waves echo.

There are five of us on the boat. All of them, men dressed in black coats.

Who rows loosely at the stern.

He who holds a crossbow and guards his surroundings.

He who guards against extinguishing the fire of the incense furnace hanging from his tip.

The other two were sitting in the middle of the boat, trying to lean against each other.

There's no conversation whatsoever. Can't afford to talk, should I? The two people in the middle did not lean down and wander, while the others concentrated on their respective roles. Or maybe for them, this is a place where you can't be alarmed. It doesn't guarantee absolute safety, even if it burns a beast shelter incense.

How much time has passed...

Extensively, I wonder if they keep going through the same place. The scenery, which was irreplaceable enough to be so illusory, gradually begins to change its appearance.

The density of the trees became thinner, and instead, the dusty stone became scattered. A mossy stone column lying on the ground. A giant stone wall that collapsed and cracked. ruins, or ruins. Reminds me of words like that. Once, something flourished here, and a trail of doom...

And, from the top of his head, he heard a rustle and a feather.

At the same time, huge shadows cover the whole boat. When all accidentally looked up into the sky, three black birds were swirling around the boat. One of them comes off the circle of siege and slowly approaches the boat.

Buckwheat, buckwheat wind. The calm river surface is blown away by the wind pressure. The closer I looked, the bigger the bird was overwhelmed. The claws on both legs are sharp as daggers, the mouth is a horrible thing with ragged teeth, and the length will probably exceed ten meters superior. Exactly, even a strange bird.

Ni honoras la nigra dentego!]

At the tip of the canoe, a man who was a watchman of the incense furnace fire shouts loudly with a metal medal in one hand.

A strange bird stepped down to the nearby stone wall, making a noise, leaning her neck as she folded her wings and peeking into you. Big red eyes, some as clenched fists, hold still to capture the medal and don't move.

Sakuri...... and one of the men sitting in the middle sounds like he swallows a saliva.

"……… Ga."

So much less, the weird bird took her gaze off like she had lost interest, and she rang out and spread her wings again. Fly away with the two overhead feathers, sounding the same feathers as they did when they came.

"…… Oops."

The man who swallowed his saliva earlier, sighing softly as he dropped off the back of a weird bird. There was a hood in the wind, and its appearance was exposed. Shortly pruned brown hair, ripped cheeks, and a snug face. When I was old, I was still young, in my early twenties or so?

The name of the youth is Pavel.

One of the few survivors of the devastated Morrisset Squad. The wound on his right shoulder is still unhealed, and the bleeding does not help his weakened body. Despite such a debilitating state, Pavel's complexion, which had cooled his liver, could not be said to be good for flattery, being taken out of bed and further stared at by a monstrous bird.

"…… ahhhhhhh"

Next to it, a rat hiding his mouth with a cloth is talking about something with a blurry look. Is that a meaningful word, or are you just raising your voice like a baby? Now that he's gone insane, there's no way to even be sure.

Bringing those two together, the boat begins to move on again. The man at the end was medalling on his nose in a calm manner. The incense furnace fire had been blown out by a gust of wind, but there was no need for any more beast-avoiding incense.

From here on out is their territory.

Vision begins to open. If you look, upstream of the river. The shadow of a secluded architecture on a small high hill. With a series of disappointing stone exterior walls surrounded by multiple boreholes, understated spires soar. Robust fortress architecture, mossy and old, but clearly with people's hands in it.

- 'It' is not named.

But whoever finds out about it simply calls it a 'castle'.

The ancient castle soars quietly in the heart of the ancient city, protected and destroyed by the beast's trekking sea of trees and black-wing monsters.

Ignaz Bandits.

It's an unknown home.

†††

Lato climbed one of the spires as he dived through the water gate and was taken by silent black men to Pavel, where he was led inside the castle.

While I ask you to lend me your shoulders, I reach the top of the tower, even though I am flustered. In front of you, a heavily wooden door with intricate decorations. On either side of it is the figure of a guard armed with full body armor, which does not make it as slight as a rock.

- If this is a "castle," it's either the king or the king.

Pavel's complexion is even worse. For him, who is only the lower end, this was his first visit to the 'Castle', and until yesterday in the first place, he didn't even know where it was located. Not to mention the bandit leaders.

A cold sweat rose on his forehead and his mouth was dry. Now Pavel just can't help but look jealous of Rat, who has the look of an idiot next door.

"... your head, I've brought you"

One of the black clothes knocks on the door modestly. "Let me through," he said. Pavel's nervousness peaked at this time.

Giggling, the door opens. I don't have a choice not to come in. Pavel stepped into it with the black clothes, half abandoned.

- Not so big a room.

A fluffy red carpet sucks in the footsteps. That was so much space to clap it out. But only one room at the top of the tower, with a great sense of liberation. The first thing that caught my eye was the glass stuck in the window wooden frame. Transparent, non-mixed, straight molded product. It was so fine that noble halls had never seen it before.

"You did well."

In front of the window, a man who was on his way to the concierge looks up as he moves his blade pen. Shot into the light of his eyes, Pavel stiffened like a doll.

Big man.

Is there any more worthy word to describe him?

Uplifting muscles throughout the body. It's like a mountain presence. An arm so thick that the blade pen in your hand makes you look like a toy, if not more. The deep face of the sculpture, which somehow reminds the bear, is so full of majesty that the more you say, "It's a general of the Principality," the more you're likely to believe it.

Pavel instantly thought he didn't need an outside guard. I'm just sitting in a chair, and the strength of the air swirls through me hiccups. The style of an overwhelming powerful man, separate from the mysterious bowman and similar to despair, that devastated the Morissette squad.

"- Kah."

A corner of the room, a stopping tree raven roared, and Pavel, who was under pressure, returned to me hah.

"Ha, ha"

The big man smiled thinly at Pavel, who stretched his spine perfectly and answered hastily.

"To Pavel, Morrisset Squad, that's Rutland, wasn't it? I just wanted to let you know more about this - let's finish this first. Can you give me a minute?"

"Yes, of course."

Pavel snorts coddly, the big man smiles wildly and glances back at the paperwork on his desk.

Often, only the sound of a blade pen running over the paper sounds. Still stiffened by tension, Pavel attempted to observe the room by itself. Fine red carpets, round tables with board games, wooden chairs with elegant finishes, bookshelves packed tightly with books and scrolls.

Decorated in the corner of the room is the giant armor the big man deserves. Heavier than regular sheet metal armor (platemails), it was constructed rigidly, and there were signs of repairs and scratches everywhere, how many battles had been dived through. Next to it is a battlehammer (battlehammer), which has been used for a long time. Despite being properly maintained, the whole thing emitted increasingly dark and dull light.

"...... ku"

So, furthermore, the black raven and the eyes of the stopping tree. Tilt your neck, red eyes peeking into this one, as you embark on yourself. There, I felt like I saw a light of inexperienced intelligence, like I could see through my mind, and Pavel turned away softly, feeling thin.

"- Okay, here's the thing."

At the end of the day, the big man, who signed sartorially and put his feather pen back in the ink, offers a bunch of buckwheat and paperwork to the man in black by his side.

"Ask as usual. You guys can back off."

"I'm awed."

The big man urges me, and my girlfriends' black clothes condolently quit the room. Pad, and the closing sound of the door. The only ones left behind were three men, Pavël and Rato.

"Ha ha, not at all, shoulder rubbing…………."

Big guy turning his shoulder, ringing his neck with a mess,

"Well, you made me wait. Now we can talk slowly."

Hands together on the desk and turn again to the Pavels. Sensible enough to be incompatible with its wild physique - which is why the bottom is unknown - he was looked at and Pavel shook his body frighteningly.

"... Mmm."

but to nervous and pale Pavel, the big man makes his face look rude about what he thought.

"Speaking of which, were you wounded?

…………

"Yeah..."

Pavel smallly agreed with the big man with a harsh expression, frightened to see if he had made something of himself next to Rat, who said nothing like a sneer.

In Pavel's reply, the big man, who turned sinister,

"Mmm, that's what I did wrong. It's hard for you to stand up. Wait a minute."

He stood up and grabbed two chairs in the corner of the room and by the round table.

"Look, just sit on this"

"Oh, shit, it's okay."

"Nah, I don't care if it decreases."

With a face that's nothing, a big man who recommends a chair, "There you go". Pavel is stunned and even frightened by the fact that his head prepares a chair from his bare hands. But he was so surprised that Rato just lowered his back with a groan, "Ooh, ooh," he took his seat.

"All right, all right, that's fine"

As he nodded contentedly, the big man threw himself into his chair somewhere, tilting his neck as he creaked.

"Now, both of you, well done again. I'm the head of the Ignaz Bandits," Denner. "

A prestigious name.

- Denner.

Hearing that name, Pavel stopped the movement.

Do your gaze at the used battlehammer, which is placed in the corner of the room so that it can be sucked in.

"Denner..." "Denner" of "Giant"?

Unexpectedly, words spilled out of my mouth, like that. Not answering that, big man - Denner, just darkens that grin.

"…… I'm sorry, I'm Pavel."

Pavel quickly regained her mind and corrected her posture when she realized that she was stunned by the person in front of her.

"… and this is Rutland. I can't speak well after being hit in the mouth, and, you know, I think I'm a little crazy..."

"Yeah, that's what I hear in the report."

Denner takes the paperwork out of his desk drawer and strokes his chin beard as he looks at it.

"But near the village of Taaf, it was. Surprised by a bowman, Morissette squad is devastated, Morissette bastards are also dead,..."

"Yes."

"Let me hear more about it"

Encouraged by a serious facial denner and dampened with pepper and lips, Pavel begins speaking from the beginning in an orderly fashion. That we raided a pair of travellers, that we let them get away with it, that we ate an ambush in the middle of a camp -.

Denner listened to it with a serious face, taking notes on the paper at hand as he pinched questions on it from time to time.

"I see... how was Morissette's final period?

"I'm sorry, I was passed out, I don't know."

"... well, I see. Don't worry about it."

Denner flickers his hand with the face of "Nothing" to Pavel, who will be sorry and smaller.

"…… and this is it,"

To dispel the awkwardness, Pavel gently removed 'it' from her chest. Object covered in black cloth. I'll put it on my desk.

Denner broadly reached out and stripped away the cloth. A blunt silver blade that reveals itself from the inside.

- Dirty with Houndwolf's blood, dagger.

"I was stabbing Houndwolf, so I thought maybe it was the raider's possession... I found it on the way out, so I recovered it."

"…… um. I made it."

Take the dagger and put it in front of your eyes to shine in the sun. Playing the blade at my fingertips, I heard a pimply clear sound.

Denner, who has been silently messing with the dagger in his hand for a while, looks up and looks at Pavel from the front at the sieve.

"Pavel, do you know anything about magic?"

"What?... No, I don't. Ask the Spirit in Spirit language, except that a miracle can happen, especially..."

"Hmm. Did Morrisset teach you to look for enemy possessions at a time like this?

"Yes. The captain always told me that it might be a clue."

"Am I right? He was good, too."

Denner, who nodded again and again, gave a strange look that he seemed to be in a good mood and somewhere lonely.

"- Okay. Thank you both for reporting."

Standing up Denner squeaks his hands out of his pants. The door opened immediately, and two maids in black came into the room.

"Get a room for both of you. And nourishing food. Yeah, one of us is losing his mouth, so let's keep him distracted."

"Certainly, Master Denner."

The maids, bowing their heads respectfully, "Come here," asked Pavels outside the room.

"Oh, no, no, no, no."

Pavel makes his eyes black and white for abrupt, Guest-like treatment. looking at Denner for help, he hoisted the edge of his mouth,

"What, it's like a vacation. This is such a despicable place, but take your time. If the wound heals, I'll have it work again."

Gahh, and I laugh out loud.

Even with a puzzling look on his face, thank you, Pavel bowed his head, and the maids took him out of the room with Rato, who didn't say a word after all.

And the door shall be shut, and there shall be only a denner in the room, and a raven with red eyes.

Denner somewhat lowered his back to the chair, behaving badly and throwing his foot on the desk.

"... what do you think, parent (...) father (...)?"

Like squealing a dagger in your hand, whining to yourself.

"Ka ~"

The ravens in the room roar and imitate hairy with a clear face.

"Dad, stop making fun of me."

"Kah-kah, kah-kah!

The whistle turns into that of the old man who was squeamish on the way.

"... of that. Oh, well, let alone be."

The raven flashed its wings, stopping from the tree to the concierge. A tight red eye looks at Denner.

Black raven.

Except that your eyes are burning red, you look nothing strange, just a bird.

As if, naturally, the raven speaks in good spirits.

"If you were a normal person, you'd be 'stuffed' by Morrisset's boy at the time of the ambush. When it comes to doing that, setting up a backlash, and yet destroying ten troops... there is no room to doubt its power. The problem is rather,"

"'Why was such a user in such a place?'"

"Bye."

Denner glanced at the paperwork at hand against the raven snorting deeply. I sigh scratching my head with boldness.

"That's crazy. To a blonde blue-eyed maiden dressed in black, a folk style bowman in a meadow. Besides, if a man is a better user, he can't be conspicuous."

"Regardless of the town by the sea, the village of Taaf is inland. Before we make contact with Morissette, we should be in a nearby city, in a village, talking about it."

"Oh. And I can't figure out whether I'm going to look into it or not, that I'm not getting any information at all."

Buckwheat, and throw the paperwork on your desk, Denner. On paper, reports of constituents diving into neighboring cities and villages were detailed.

"Mm-hmm. I feel something. That's not what being unnatural means. I'm just a magician..."

"My father's reckoning is a good hit. Where do you think is suspicious?

"When it comes to the village of Taaf, it's Baucket territory, right? Then there's only Satina."

"When it comes to a big city that's not our" guest, "it's about Satina..."

Often, as we contemplate, one and one were silent.

"…… well, you'll see soon enough. Father, please do as usual."

"Great, let the birds find it……"

The black-winged raven spreads its buckwheat and wings in front of the dagger.

[Barono de nigregaj, Stina.]

Girari and his eyes glow,

[Vi sercas la mastro... ekzercu!]

The blade on the tabletop rang slightly as it responded to the call.

"Hmm..."

Both eyes of the raven glimpse as if they were chameleons. But it didn't last long either, and his gaze quickly set to a point. The raven turns straight east and tilts his neck small.

"- Found it. Satina."

"Well, still. Then the 'Bowman' and the Dot are the spinners of that city? Where is Satina? If it's a high-end city, I'm pretty sure it's a mercenary hired by a lord."

"This is... odd. In a merchant's quarters, there's nothing strange about it. Hmm, not in black, but I also have a blonde with me. I have my back turned so I can't see my face."

As it lived, looking into the void, the raven tried to go on with the words even further. But at that time, the dagger at the desk shivered and the air in the room gave birth to a different atmosphere.

"Mm-hmm."

In the voice of a raven, the colour of haste floats. I flipped my buckwheat and wings and flew away from the dagger in front of me.

- Sinjoro -

In the room.

- Kion vi volas, huh? ――

Innocent, then luscious, voice.

Outside the loud windows, the wind blows. A rattling and shaking window frame. Denner, attacked by some ominous hunch, slumped to the floor.

A gust of wind blows.

A loud noise broke the window in the room. Splashing glass fragments, judgment and scattered paperwork, roaring like the roar of a beast, blowing swirls wild winds.

"Ko, this is ah!

While desperately sticking on the desk to avoid being blown away, the raven saw.

- The dagger that was abandoned had a crack in it as soon as I could see it, and it collapsed into pieces.

"! Wait!

In a rush to approach the dagger, he makes a bashing noise and the raven is bounced off to the edge of the room, as if in an invisible hand.

"Father!

"It doesn't matter! But -!"

Denner who woke himself up, rough in front of him, his dagger collapsed like sand. Its fine particles wind up and dissolve and disappear to be invited into the void.

- Gis la revido -

A bell-ringing, prankster, laugh-inclusive voice. In the winding wind, Denner hallucinated the appearance of one, feathered girl.

And abruptly, the wind stops.

…………

Later only Denner, who seemed distracted, and Raven, who scattered his wings in the corner of the room and shook his head to pay for the headache, were left behind.

"……… Father, what the hell is this?"

In the misery of a messed up room, Denner with his lips pointed sees a raven with blameworthy eyes. But the raven, who opened his mouth blindly,

"... kah."

Just a voice that stuffs my breath,

"Kah, kah, kah, kah, kah, kah!!

Excited, he starts laughing like he's drawn, moving his judgment and wings.

"Knock, knock, knock, knock! You noticed my eyes! Kakakaka, masterpiece!! This guy's a masterpiece!

"There's nothing funny or funny about me... what do you mean?"

A dazzling denner while organizing the paperwork. feathered, the raven stopped on Denner's shoulder, as he peered into its side,

"I'm not a magician."

Gently, I whispered.

"The man with the bow is not a magician. With the protection of the Great Spirit."

"The Great Spirit?

"I don't know. It's not a" fairy "or" fire. "It's not a child trick, it's a spiritual of mighty elements. In this case, eighty-nine out of ten, the wind will blow."

What's funny, the raven snarls her throat again as she comes around.

"Give me a break, the room is like this thanks to my father's alarm..."

Denner held his forehead and took a small sigh. The windows were crushed, the furniture and conditioning were knocked down, the paperwork was scattered and the room was as if it had been a direct tornado hit.

"Ugh, uh-huh. Sorry, no.... that young man, I got interested."

Jump down to the desk with a ton, raven. In those eyes that glitter and shine, there is a radiance that is different from that of intelligence.

"I want. I want the power of that Spirit, even if it is not. Somehow, I want to be mine. And……. Tiuj kiuj insidas en la sablo... alie gi estus unu el la vizitantoj..."

Denner once again took a small sigh as he put the paperwork together to a raven who shrugged and murmured something with an indefinite eye of focus.

"… well, fine. In the meantime, may I conclude that the bowman in question is an official of Satina?"

"Of course. Awesome bowman, magician and so on, rolling around like apples. Mercenaries hired as a countermeasure against us (Ignats) or……. Either way, it's just a coincidence."

Um, nodded Denner, squeaking his hands out of his pants.

Soon the door opens and the made-up of black clothes creeps in. They looked as clear as dolls, but when they saw the misery in the room, they changed that look to boulders.

"Dear Denner, this is……………."

"Hmm. A little mistake, a prankster walked in... you guys, I'll leave the cleaning to you."

"Yes..."

The maids nodded in confusion at Denner, who shrugged her shoulders like she was serious or joking. And he stopped the ravens that flew in his arms,

"Then I'll go back to the attic. Call me if anything happens."

"Certainly."

With the maids bowing their heads on their asses, Denner leaves the room.

"…… but the door in that room is also inconvenient to think about."

"Kah."

Completely decorated, wooden doors. Before climbing the spiral staircase, Denner took a good look at one of them. It just looks like a door. It's actually enchanted as a bugging measure that only some limited sounds can pass through. It's convenient for a secret conversation, but if you return the back, no matter what happens inside, no one outside will know.

Climb the spiral stairs.

Once upon a time, the sound of the heel of the boot hitting the stone steps only echoes. The office where I thought Pavel was on the top floor, but there's actually a small attic on top of it. It's a completely private space, where Denner forbids anyone but himself from entering.

At the top of the stairs, unlock the small wooden door and Denner enters the attic. In a room so small that it was not commensurate with Denner's giant, there was only a bookshelf stuck on a larger sleeping table, a stopped tree on it, and a small side table.

"Now, what do we do, Dad?"

To Denner's inquiry, a raven that moved to a stopped tree leans his neck.

"……… Is this a response to Satina?

"It's about Ignaerts, too. … it's time to end this' bandit '."

Denner, sitting on his sleeping table, elbowed and put his hands together, stared straight into his red eyes.

"It took me long enough. I also sowed enough seeds. I'm sick and tired of the work of slave traders, the commerce of Seikuri, and every imitation of intelligence.

Lately, Satina has stepped up control. Because it doesn't fit, we just decided to take a hand out of that city. As we've shown here, I was wondering if it might be a sign that the other side was in hostilities. "

"It fits..."

With this, Leo will be able to establish himself as the fourth faction in the current three-ways succession war.

Denner snorts deeply at the ravens that squeak. Kuck, with a squeaky voice, the raven rang his throat.

"… To be honest, I'm tired of being a scripture pigeon, too."

"That's not going to end if you stop the current (...). I'd rather be busier than now."

Denner with a mean smile.

"Well, there are things about bowmen. We must prepare ourselves accordingly."

"Yeah… but it's time to get started."

"I know the phase. If so, Denner, I'll go back a little bit (...). I asked to take care of this guy."

"Okay."

As Denner nodded, the red color fell out of the stopping tree raven's eyes and faded away.

"... kahh, kahh"

One or two voices. He looks around like a bird, shaking his head.

Seeing that, Denner sighs alone.

"Damn it, Morissette bastard. I'm dying from now on………………."

I don't know a few of the members of the Ignaz Bandits, but Morissette is one of the oldest 'buddies' to date Denner for over a decade.

The last time I think about it is a few weeks ago, at a gathering of executive classes, when we met face to face.

- Your head, does it make any sense for us to continue with Bandits?

Morissette asked Denner this.

The Ignaz Bandits, as the name suggests, are the Bandits.

But more than a decade after flying the flag. Business patterns, sometimes grabbing women and children, and the bandits gained connections with slave traders in that relationship. It was an unlimited area of gray close to black, but it was there that it established an intersection to the surface society.

With that in mind, the Denners were involved in a variety of things. He dyed his hands against smuggling and smuggling from that skilful covert action, and began to deal with drugs, both legal and illegal, and even legitimate commerce as those camouflages. In recent times, many people will be working without knowing that they are at the mercy of Ignaz.

And the breadth of communication and range of activities via witchcraft helped gather information and allowed for further organizational expansion. Now he's made some back-to-back deals with several cities, and the Ignatz Bandits even imitate every intelligence organization.

- A presence that occupies a large part of the society behind the Principality, which is huge, then organized.

That is the status quo of the Ignaz Bandits.

There is a very limited number of people who know the overall picture of the organization. Morissette was one of those few constituents. What he questioned Denner was that, in the huge sources of funding for the Ignaz Bandits, they accounted for a disproportionately small percentage of their operations and made little money.

Where it gets clogged, now I wonder if bandit operations are just 'futile'.

"…… we needed to be" bandits. "

But Denner answered this way.

"He's a bandit, but he's also imitating intelligence. I had to make that gesture, make a stand."

Ignaerts is huge, a mighty organization. But if you stir up a futile vigilance on the people in the 'Table' and turn it all against the enemy, you don't have enough strength as an organization to fight it out against them.

Therefore, we must alert them. He said he was a bandit.

In addition, "bandit operations" were still necessary as a demonstration, as the dealings with each city included "solemn activities in the territory where hands were tied".

- If you're going to bandit, make a profit.

- Instead, don't do any damage.

Instead of sacrificing and making profits with it, don't hit me in the first place if there's enough sacrifice to make. Denner was, yes, instructing Morissette.

Morissette isn't particularly strong, but she's a cautious, cunning man. I didn't greed you, I didn't get on with it, and until then, I was doing my job lightly.

"Damn, I'm dying."

Pompous, lonely.

"…… well, I'm done with that too"

Face up, Denner gently stroked the side table next to the bedroom.

No sound, on the surface of the table, the map floats like an illusion. A level map with all the major metropolises and detailed terrain of the Lilleil region, which would not be surprising if it were supposed to be the country's highest secret.

On top of that, a similar phantom flag (flag) rose and stunningly filled the surface. The port city of Kitene, the castle city of Satina, the mining city of Gallon, the fortress city of Wolvern - countless flags of different colors and shapes that stand in those cities. Denners set it up and sown it, a testament to the 'seed'...

Instead, raise your hips and look out the window.

Green view, stretching to the end of the horizon.

Forest and buried there, a figure of ruin.

"So far, I've got all sorts of things -"

As the leader of a giant band of bandits, Denner has acquired almost everything that exists roughly in the world.

He plundered various treasures of gold and silver, he got a woman, he got gold - and now this is how he became the Lord of one castle.

However, still.

I haven't taken anything from you yet.

Looking back. It emerges there, a map of illusions.

- The Principality of the Union of Akland.

"Come on,"

In.

The man smiled like a beast.

"- Let's start stealing the country."

Destiny's gear, turn around.