Chapter 27: Pablo, I

The room fell silent due to Louis’s question. The chief pointed at himself with a trembling finger.

“Me? You mean me?”

Louis nodded.

“Who else here is this big and old?”

“…”

“What’s your name?”

Confusion flashed across the chief’s face, but despite his thoughts, he found himself answering automatically.

“P-Pablo…”

Louis cheered internally as Pablo responded without hesitation.

Yes! This guy is too easy!

His eyes curved like crescent moons, briefly flashing the unique pupils of dragons before disappearing again.

“Chief? What’s wrong with you?”

“I-I don’t know. My body feels…”

Bandit No. 1 eyed Pablo suspiciously, but even Pablo himself wasn’t sure what was happening to him. His body trembled uncontrollably despite his best efforts to stop it.

“Are you feeling ill?”

“I…think I have a cold?”

“A cold?”

The chief had never flinched at getting slashed by an orc’s blade, so Bandit No. 1 blinked in surprise at this explanation.

“I-I’m going back to rest. Take care of those things.”

“Yes, sir.”

As Pablo turned to leave after delegating all tasks to his subordinate…

“Huh? Leaving already?” Louis called out cheerfully, waving good-bye with one hand.

“Take care! See ya around!”

The innocent voice of the child sent chills down Pablo’s spine.

Brrr…

“U-um, you go ahead first.”

“Yes, sir!” Pablo hastily left the room as Bandit No. 1 watched him curiously before following suit.

With everyone gone from the prison, it wasn’t long until another small shadow appeared on the scene.

“Sir Louis!”

“Fin!”

Louis welcomed Fin back with enthusiasm and eagerly asked, “So, how did it go?”

“It was a bust! The warehouse is completely empty. These bandits might starve to death soon if this keeps up.”

“Hmph.” Displeased at hearing there was nothing worth stealing, Louis pouted for a moment but quickly recovered.

“Heh-heh-heh.” He chuckled menacingly.

Louis’s lips twitched. “Yes, wealth comes in many forms.”

“What do you mean?”

“Heh-heh-heh.” Louis’s eyes sparkled.

Truthfully, he wouldn’t mind if they didn’t acquire any material goods; it wasn’t his priority at this point anyway. What he truly needed were talented individuals. And now, he had found someone crucial to their success. How could he not be thrilled?

“Well then, shall we make our move?” Louis got up from his seat with some difficulty. “I’ll be back soon. Keep an eye on these two while I’m gone. Tell them I’ll return as soon as they wake up.”

“No! C-can I go with you?” Fin paled at being left alone with the twins.

Seeing Fin about to burst into tears, Louis wagged his finger at him.

“No! If you’re not here when they wake up, I’m sure they’ll wander off everywhere. We’ll be back soon, so hang tight.”

“…Okay.” Fin reluctantly nodded through his tears.

With that, Louis approached the bars of their cell.

“Hnnngh!” He gripped them tightly and strained with all his might.

Creeeeeeeak.

Despite his small hands, he managed to pry open the thick metal bars. Though young, he was still a dragon, after all, and possessed enough strength for this task.

Louis stuck his head out between the gaps, checked if anyone was around, and slipped outside.

Creeeeeeeak.

Once free, he restored the bars to their original position and waved goodbye.

“I’ll be back soon!”

“P-please hurry back!” Despite Fin’s anxiety, Louis leisurely exited the prison as if it were his own living room.

“…Much better now.” Pablo returned to his room and relaxed as soon as he stopped shivering. But then, a question popped into his mind.

“What was that just now?”

He had never experienced such a sensation before. It felt like confronting an unstoppable monster, making him want to curl up in fear. As he recalled how he’d reacted earlier, Pablo trembled again.

He muttered incredulously, “Me, Pablo, scared of some kid?”

The boy looked so frail that Pablo could snap his neck with one hand. Yet here he was, afraid of this child? The same Pablo who had faced off against ten snow orc warriors without flinching?

Pablo chuckled at the absurdity of it all. “I guess I’ve been too idle lately, losing my edge.”

As he nodded with a smile…

“What’s so funny?”

“Ack!”

Pablo jumped at the unexpected voice and whipped around to see Louis standing there with his arms crossed. The boy smiled brightly and waved.

“Hi!”

“Wh-whaat?!” Shocked, Pablo stumbled backward and yelled, “H-how did you get here?!”

“I just walked out.”

Louis’s casual response prompted Pablo to grab his war hammer nearby as tension gripped him all over.

Meanwhile, Louis casually strolled about Pablo’s bedroom, taking it all in like he was visiting a friend for a playdate.

Gulp.

Pablo inspected Louis nervously. Despite the innocent look on his face, Pablo couldn’t help feeling terrified of the child.

What is this?

Pablo tightened his grip on his war hammer.

After inspecting every corner of Pablo’s bedroom, Louis finally approached him.

“Well, looks like you’re living well here.”

“…I don’t know how you got out, but I’ll let it slide if you go back now.”

“And what if I refuse?”

“I’ll have to beat you until you leave!”

“Oh boy, I’m scared.” Louis’s mocking grin was enough to irritate anyone, including Pablo.

“You little—!”

Hwoosh.

The combination of an unknown fear, Louis’s provocation, and losing control for the first time in his life led Pablo to swing his weapon with all his might.

But as soon as he did, reality set in, and panic took over.

Crap!

His hammer could crush even solid rock with one strike. It would undoubtedly turn any human being into pulp.

Had his target been a mere human child with fragile flesh and bones, it would’ve been instantly pulverized.

Damn, what a waste of money!

Considering Louis as their merchandise, Pablo briefly regretted his actions. However, there was nothing he could do now that he’d already swung his weapon.

Whooooosh.

The war hammer caused a massive gust of wind as it flew toward Louis’s head. In just a few seconds, Pablo assumed Louis’s skull would be crushed.

But before that could happen…

Thud.

“What?!”

The war hammer abruptly stopped short of its intended target for some inexplicable reason, hovering about ten centimeters above Louis’s head.

“Wh-what is this?” A flustered Pablo stared at the scene unfolding before him.

There was no other explanation. It wasn’t blocked by something external, nor had it been halted by some kind of trickery. Pablo’s own body had stopped his war hammer midswing.

Krik-krik!

The sound of bones grinding together echoed from Pablo’s frame.

…Wh-what?!

As a warrior at the pinnacle of martial arts mastery, Pablo knew exactly what his body had just done.

Louis sneered at the flustered giant. “You said you’d crush me?”

“…?!” Louis continued to smirk at him.

“I-impossible!” Pablo gritted his teeth and swung his weapon again.

Whoosh.

This time, the war hammer sliced through the air with force aimed squarely at Louis’s shoulder, but…

Thud.

Once more, Pablo’s weapon froze in midair.

The result was the same as before; his body halted the hammer’s momentum.

“How…how is this possible?” Stunned, Pablo swung his weapon repeatedly.

Whoom, whoom, whoom!

As the giant swung the massive hammer like it was a mere spoon, strong gusts of wind blew around him. Yet despite the whirlwind, Louis stood unaffected, not even a strand of hair moving out of place.

“Yawn! Is that all you’ve got?”

“Agh!” The more Louis yawned lazily at Pablo, the fiercer Pablo’s attacks became.

Approximately thirty minutes later…

“Huff, huff.” Having exhausted most of his energy, Pablo collapsed to the ground and glared up at Louis with a mixture of fear and confusion.

“What…what the hell are you?”

“Are we done here?”

After about thirty minutes, Louis slowly approached Pablo and patted him on the shoulder.

“You need to be nice to us from now on.”

“…What?”

Pablo had no idea what Louis was talking about, but even more bewildering was that Louis casually strolled out of the room after delivering his cryptic message.

“…” Pablo stared at the door as if possessed by a ghost, unable to move for quite some time.

With that, Louis left Pablo’s bedroom and returned to his prison cell.

“Welcome back!”

“Yes!” Fin enthusiastically greeted Louis as he entered through the open bars.

Fortunately, the twins were still asleep. Louis spread out a blanket next to them and lay down with Fin leaping onto his stomach.

“How did it go out there?”

“It went great! Couldn’t have gone better!”

“What brings you here?”

“Fin.”

“Yes?” Louis responded with another question, leaving Fin puzzled.

“Which is more efficient: forcing people to work or having them volunteer?”

“The latter, of course!”

“Exactly!” Louis chuckled contentedly.

The more pleased he looked, the more confused Fin became.

Regardless, Louis was internally ecstatic.

Now that I’ve cast my line, all that’s left is waiting for a bite.

Louis kicked back and soon fell asleep, swinging his legs leisurely. Despite their uncomfortable surroundings, the three young dragons were fast asleep as well.

Meanwhile, someone else was filled with unease.

“What kind of monster is that…?”

Everything was a mystery to Pablo: How did that kid escape from prison? Why was his body reacting so strangely?

He couldn’t make heads or tails of it all. After much deliberation, he finally reached a decision and abruptly stood up.

“We need to get rid of those brats right away!”

The children seemed ominous somehow. He felt like removing them would alleviate some of this anxiety.

Pablo stormed out determinedly but soon encountered Bandit No. 2.

“Oh? Where’re you off to, boss?”

“What’re those brats doing now?”

“The kids?”

“What about those kids you brought here earlier?”

“Oh, them? They’re asleep right now.”

“A-asleep? All three of them? Are they all there together?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“R-really?”

Louis truly was no ordinary kid. He’d casually wandered around the Stealth Unit’s hideout as if it were his own home and then left just like that.

Pablo rubbed his eyes sleepily.

Bandit No. 2 eyed him strangely. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Oh, nothing. Forget that—when did you say the slave trader would be here?”

“I haven’t been able to reach him yet because there might be another blizzard soon.”

“What?! Why not?!”

“Sir?”

“Ahem…” Pablo cleared his throat awkwardly, realizing he was getting too worked up.

Pablo was too afraid to harm the boy with his own hands, but he also couldn’t bring himself to let him go free.

After a brief pause, Pablo spoke again. “Forget it… More importantly, keep an eye on those kids.”

“Keep an eye on them? But they’re just children!”

“Do as I say!”

“…Understood.” Bandit No. 2 reluctantly nodded at the chief’s angry outburst.

Unsatisfied by this response, Pablo reiterated several times how important it was before finally leaving. He also added that once the storm passed, the slaves should be handed over to the slave trader as soon as possible.

With these precautions taken, Pablo managed to get some sleep.

That night, he had a strange dream.