'So far, it doesn't seem like that knight bastard will step up right away, so...'
With that thought in my head, I casually led the mood.
"Harun!"
"H-Huh?"
"I want you to trust me and take just one of these guys on— something like a trial run. What you've learned should be enough for these minions."
The knight clicked his tongue at my words.
"Stupid bastards. It's clear they'll never make it up the ladder, believing in crap like that."
I wonder if that muttering was the cause.
"Becker!"
Ben-Hur, the scowling minion leader, called out.
"Yes, Boss."
Looking at his face, it turned out to be the bandit who had pushed me here in the beginning.
"You take care of that kid."
"What? M-Me?"
"Don't make me say it twice. Part of me wants to slit your throat for causing this situation."
"Y-Yes, sir! Then, am I allowed to kill him?"
"...."
A moment of silence descends.
"...No. Don't kill him."
"Yes, sir."
Of course not.
In the first place, he called that knight because he didn't have the confidence to subdue us without killing us.
Like I said, we're commodities.
Commodities that a big client is impatiently waiting for, at that.
And more than anything, by the looks of it, they haven't even figured out who we are yet.
Clank!
Soon enough, the bandit pulled out a giant mace and swung it in the air.
"Even if you end up crippled, don't blame me. You brought this on yourselves."
Flinch.
Harun's expression froze under the murderous stare.
In his hand, he held a sword which was one of the minions' treasures.
-No need to be so nervous. Just do as I say from now on.
"...!"
Harun's eyes widened at the sound of my voice in his head, and he looked around.
-Don't look at me, and just focus on your opponent from now on.
Harun finally hid his surprise, and nodded slowly.
-You can't use mana right now anyway. So there's no point in trying.
His opponent wasn't even worthy of using mana against in the first place.
"I'll at least chop off one of your legs!"
Whirrr!
At that moment, the bandit made the first move.
-The mace is coming from the front. Keep your eyes open and step to the right!
Bam!
The mace struck the ground.
The bandit's eyes widened, as if he hadn't expected Harun to dodge.
"Eek!"
The bandit immediately tried to retrieve the mace.
But weighing as much as it did, it was too slow.
-Left foot forward, go on the offense! And his chest— pierce it!
"Haaah!"
Harun cried out, and followed my instructions to the letter.
"Ugh!"
The panicked bandit hastily swung his mace.
Still too slow.
In fact, he didn't even think of counterattacking and squeezed his eyes shut.
That's right.
This is what the skills of a bandit in the countryside amount to.
Wooosh! Stab!
In the end, the bandit practically allowed Harun, who had only been learning the sword for a week, to stab him.
"...Cough!"
Tremble.
However, Harun's sword missed its intended target.
The bandit staggered backwards, his left ribs were pierced instead of his heart, and he crumpled to the ground in a heap.
"Well, not bad for a first shot."
"Wh-What in the world?"
I heard exclamations of surprises from all directions.
"I-I won?"
Thud!
Harun sank to the ground.
It was his first fight. His first time hurting another human being.
There's an instinctive repulsion to the raw sensation of metal piercing flesh.
Unless you're a natural born killer, you'll probably feel all the energy in your body disappear.
However, it's a necessary experience to improve at the sword.
"Th-That stupid bastard. That child's clearly never held a sword before in his life, and yet he lost to the kid?"
Knight Thomas, who was watching, clicked his tongue.
"That's it. Rather than having to watch something like that, I'll do it myself."
"Hey. Your opponent is me."
"...?"
Immediately, Thomas turned his head in my direction.
"What did you just say?"
"Are you stupid? Or are you just deaf?"
"...Ha."
Thomas bursts out laughing.
"Ahahahaha! Unbelievable. Kid, do you even know who I am?"
"What do I care about someone who's about to die?"
"...."
For the first time, Thomas's expression hardened.
"Your tongue is not your usual child's. What's your name?"
"An...."
After a moment's hesitation, I continued.
"...celot. It's Ancelot."
I was going to say Andrew, but I just said my real name.
Who knows?
At hearing my name from remote lands, maybe the Imperials would remember memories long forgotten.
Maybe it'll bother them enough that it keeps them up at night.
Of course, having seen me die before their eyes, they would never imagine it was the same person.
Besides, it's not uncommon on this continent to name newborn babies after famous people.
'Also, I'm curious.'
I wonder what this mana-using bastard will do when he hears my name?
"An…celot?"
Thomas ponders my name for a moment, then bursts out laughing.
"You've got a grand name for being a crazy bastard."
He pulls out a small booklet from his arm.
"I never thought I'd write the name of a great hero in here."
"Great hero...?"
My eyes widened for a moment.
A great hero?
Not a great villain?
As they say, history is written by the victors.
Even if I was the one who helped establish the last empire, it's only right that I should have been recorded as a demon or a schemer who met his end after taking the head of the king who had betrayed me.
But a great hero?
"...By the way, what's that?"
"This? It's a list of sorts."
"A list?"
"Everybody I kill gets their name on this list."
Why?
Why would you even bother?
"Anyway, kid. Did you say your name was Ancelot?"
"...Yeah?"
Suddenly, Thomas crosses his sword in front of his chest, an act that seemed out of place in this situation.
Etiquette of swords.
Literally, etiquette accomplished with the sword.
"Ancelot. The weight of the life I will take from you, I will carry from now on."
Crazy bastard.
I've seen a lot of bullshit from knights, but this lunatic was a new one.
Bam!
"Ugh...!"
Immediately afterward, Thomas suddenly swung his fist to his side.
One of the minions, whose nose was broken at the blow, was dripping with blood.
"S-Sir, what is the meaning...?"
"Silence."
"Yes, sir...."
The knight dipped his finger in it, writing my name with the blood.
"Ancelot. I, Thomas, shall remember that name forever."
"...You think that's chivalry, don't you?"
"Hmph."
Thomas gave a small snort of laughter.
The look on his face seemed to say, 'What do you think you know about chivalry?'
Shiiing!
"However, I will not kill you peacefully. With your death today, you will regret and reflect on your actions. Especially your loud mouth."
Soon, the lunatic started making his way towards me, his sword drawn.
There was not a single ounce of wariness in his eyes.
Such an idiot wasn't even worth my attention.
"Hey, Harun."
"H-Hey, in front of you! Look ahead, you crazy bastard!"
"Remember what I said about Arundel swordsmanship? Two dots in the air, connect them. That's the key."
As I said that, I slowly lowered my left hand.
It was exactly where Harun was crouching.
'The left hand is the starting point.'
For reference, my right hand held the dagger I had acquired the night before.
My left hand, on the other hand, held nothing.
'Worst case scenario, even if I defeat this asshole, I'll have to deal with the rest of them all by myself.'
In other words, no second chances.
Arundel's swordsmanship is simple, but it's a massive mana drain that seems almost inefficient.
Vrr…! Vrrr…!
My mana, now the size dog shit, resonated.
Connect the dots.
Right now, think of nothing else.
"...There's a reason scum like you are allowed to run rampant on this continent. That's right, in the first place, there's something wrong with this world."
"What?"
During the moment he asked mockingly in disbelief.
Swoosh!
By that time, the lunatic stood right in front of me, and I let the dagger in my right hand fly right towards his face.
"Hmph."
Clang!
Obviously thinking that the whole situation was ridiculous, the lunatic deflected the dagger with his sword.
He had his guard down.
"Petty tricks...!"
Judging from how he was screaming like this in the middle of a battle.
For a brief moment, even my breathing parted.
I didn't miss my chance.
The destination of my sword had been set from the start.
Moment by moment, each an infinitesimal fraction of a second.
Flash!
The moment I threw the dagger, my other hand had already snatched the sword from Harun's grasp.
I brought it straight down.
Out of nothing, a straight, white, solid line was drawn mid-air.
A single path entered my vision.
A dot and a dot.
I saw it clearer than anyone else.
Connect the lines.
Stab!
"...!"
"...!"
"...!"
The sword pierced Thomas's skull without missing a beat.
"...You do it like this."
Shhhhk!
As I pulled the sword out and gave it a shake, dots of blood splatter onto the floor.
Thud!
At the same time, the soulless body wobbled and collapsed to the ground.
Shiver.
At this unbelievable sight, the minion leader Ben-Hur's entire body trembled.
"Th-that thing on the sword at the end... was definitely mana, right?"
"A-A child like that has mana?"
"No way! How could a mere teenage child defeat a knight...?"
The completely disoriented minions began to chatter.
"B-Boss. A-Are we going to be okay? Wasn't Sir Thomas more than capable of wiping out the likes of us single-handedly?"
One of the minions quickly clung to Ben-Hur and whispered.
There was even a hint of desperation in his voice.
If I were their leader, I would have decapitated that whispering minion in an instant.
Fear is a terrible plague.
Military discipline is like an abstraction.
For every coward like him on the battlefield, you became exponentially less likely to win the war.
So, Captain Ben-Hur.
What choice do you make here?
"Will you continue?"
Thud!
He didn't deliberate long.
"S-Spare us!"
"...!"
At the loud noise, the startled minions turned to look at their leader.
Ben-Hur was bowing his head to me.
"What do you think you're doing, you sons of bitches? Get on your knees! Is this how you want to die?"
At that, the other minions started to join in, slamming their heads against the earth with a "Thump! Thump!"
"S-Spare us!"
"W-We failed to recognize someone of your stature. If you spare us this once, we will live a good life in penance from now on!"
I let my gaze sweep across the minions.
The standard here is to divide them into those who can be rehabilitated and those who cannot.
Because the other key to power is none other than 'people.'
"Poor bastards. Just what kind of lives did they have to resort to this kind of life?"
"...!"
Did they hear hope in my words?
Their voices rise in pitch.
"We will make sure to repay you for saving our lives! Please have mercy on us!"
I stared at them, pretending to be troubled.
Chapter 3 of Ancelot's Code.
People don't change; don't try to fix them.
Chapter 4. Don't leave behind any seeds that will be the source of trouble in the future.
Chapter 5. If you make a rule, enforce it.
When I put it all together, my answer was already set in stone.
"Well, since I do need information...."
A crooked smile spread across my face.
"I'll let one of you live."
"...!"
"Start killing each other."