Chapter 230: Truth

Yui relayed the news to Rufus and Reiji… 

They immediately understand that she's referring to the members of the Crimson Reapers that they have left unconscious on the ground.

"Just what kind of crimes did they do to deserve to die?" Rufus was curious. 

Although it's not a problem for him to kill, he wanted to know the sins they've made to deserve such treatment. 

He avoided killing them before since he's not sure about their crimes whether they were truly bad people or not… However, it seems that his worry was for naught.

"Human trafficking… They are the dogs of the Count… Urgh… I almost accepted that mission before…"

Yui answered which baffled the two…

They understood the graveness of human trafficking crime… They indeed deserve to die. Who knows just how many victims they captured before. 

Perhaps if his Sword Slaves were weaker and he wasn't there with Rufus to rescue them, they would've been sold to other people already… If they are doing this for many years, then the victims would just be uncountable...

Nevertheless, they were confused about the involvement of the Count and the mission she mentioned. 

"The Count? Mission? What do you mean, Senior Yui."

The young man couldn't follow what the lady was saying. 

Reiji is also in the same position so he waited for the answer.

"Oh… I guess you're not aware… I was previously looking for a mission to get out of the tower and I found this mission about tutoring someone about the basics of the Spiritual Energy things about the Arcanists."

As the young lady, reached here, both Rufus and Reiji recalled something when they are looking for a mission. Nevertheless, they let her continue with her story. 

"If I probably accepted the mission… I'd be in trouble…"

Yui glanced at their surroundings before communicating with her Arcana

'Odette… cast a barrier around us. In case someone is eavesdropping…'

'Alright…'

"Ehem… As I was saying, the Count is the mastermind of human trafficking… If someone had accepted the mission, they'd probably get taken someplace far away from here…"

"What? I'm can recall that mission… However, if you know this, why is no one acting about it? He's just a count… If the higher rank knows about this, he'll surely get into trouble…"

"It's not that easy to put down a noble… Your bloodline has nobility too, right?"

"Yes, but I'm just from a small barony in the countryside."

"I see…"

Yui then explained the complexity of the nobility as not just anyone could act against them. Aside from that, looking for other higher rank nobles is also difficult. After all, a commoner wouldn't know the allied nobles of these people. 

If they decided to report them to others, they might just be targeted and get killed without knowing how…

"So it's better to just avoid them instead… Unless you can ask help from the Knights Order… You can guarantee that your complaint or report wouldn't be in the wrong hands."

"Does it means that we can only rely on the Knights Order when dealing with the Nobles?" Rufus felt that the system wasn't good… 

Nevertheless, her words make sense… Even the patrolling guards were probably part of the Count's forces at this point.

"Well… Not really… If you are strong… You can deal with them on your own."

Rufus squinted his eyes after hearing this.

"You heard it right… If you defeated a noble, you can just tell them that they pissed you off… You're an Arcanist… No one should dare to belittle you. The kingdom would treasure you more than a useless noble that was defeated by a single Arcanists…"

"Sounds good to me…"

Rufus replied… 

They are still in the era where strength matters the most… This is why he could easily accept Yui's logic of doing things…

"How about you? Now that you learned about the Count's crime? Are you going to let him go?"

"Of course not… After I completed that enhancement that my Arcana has to do, I'll pay him a visit together with my relative's private soldiers…"

Yui smiled widely… The young man was also reminded of the dangerous man who reported to her just now…

It seems that this lady is truly not simple.

***

Time passed and they separated their ways after finishing their meal…

Yui returned to her relative's place while Rufus returned to his rented house…

He checked the array he placed and confirmed that no one seemed to have entered their place without permission which is a good sign… 

Thud!

As soon as they enter the front lawn of the property, Rufus stopped moving and spoke to his master.

'Master… Please don't kill these four ladies…'

'Eh? What are you saying?' Reiji was surprised by the kid's sudden request…

But before the student can answer, the shinai recalled their conversation with Yui… He almost chuckled at the thought.

'Ah… Don't worry about it… Even if we need to kill a Cultist, I will not target my followers. Haha…'

It seems that the student is worried about the method they could use to enter the Isengard and be acquainted with the General.

'Thank you, Master… Let's continue our practice now.'

Finally, Rufus had a better mood as he asked his master for practice… 

Tomorrow, they will be going to the dungeons and start their real combat training. He's quite excited and wanted to swing his swords for a while.

'Just fight Ruthren for now… Don't use Spiritual Energy… Just sword skills, alright?'

'Yes, Master!'

If Rufus is the one to rate the servants, he would say that they are not that strong against any Arcanists… 

However, because of their Sword Affinity increase, which was gifted by Master Reiji, they were still giving a decent fight…

The young man smiled at the thought as he decided to spar against Ruthren.

On the other hand, Reiji had finally found an idea about the place for his first dojo… Apparently, while Yui and Rufus were chatting, Reiji decided to inquire about some decent places from the intelligent wand Arcana…

'I guess it's not a bad idea…'

Reiji muttered as he decided to initiate his plan once Rufus had solidified his strength and kendo skills at the Fifth-Dan.