Zeke's Sword (4)
The Captain of the Lodren Loan Sharks, Kutan, cursed under his breath.
‘Damn it, did I pick the wrong fight? Why would a noble come here personally?’
However, the fact that he had never heard of the name "Zeke Clayman" made him hesitate.
Lodren, his boss, had been up to all sorts of things to achieve his ambition of building the largest underground organization in the capital city.
He had bribed high-ranking nobles and officials, and carefully selected people he could manipulate without attracting attention from the authorities.
An abandoned blacksmith, powerless commoners, slaves, low-ranking nobles with no connections...
And now that the preparations were almost complete, he was in the process of taking over other organizations, supplying them with weapons and gathering funds.
There were names on the list that he shouldn't touch during this process.
Kutan recalled those names in his head.
Again, there was no "Zeke Clayman" among them.
He had never even heard of a family named "Clayman."
This meant that the man in front of him was either just a rich commoner or an insignificant noble whose actions could be covered up by someone higher up.
In fact, Zeke's appearance at Ramielli had only been at the entrance ceremony.
And because Dios had deliberately downplayed Zeke's introduction, very few of the nobles present knew his name.
However, Kutan, unaware of this, couldn't help but misunderstand.
Zeke's youthful appearance and the comical sight of him holding a baguette only fueled that misunderstanding.
‘Is he just a crazy kid with too much bravado?’
Yes, sometimes there were guys like this who suddenly interfered.
Stupid fools who were overflowing with nothing but a sense of justice.
If he played along for a bit, they'd be begging for mercy at his feet.
'He looks loaded, there must be a lot to squeeze out of him.'
Kutan finished his calculations and put on a cruel smile.
“He’s nothing special!”
“C-Captain, are you sure? He looks rich...”
“Yeah, I'll take responsibility. Just don't kill him.”
The men's eyes gleamed at Kutan's words, spoken with a trustworthy face.
“Get him!”
At his command, the men charged towards Zeke.
Zeke closed his eyes.
Four large men were charging at him, but he felt no sense of danger.
He felt the familiar weight in his hand, a sensation he hadn't felt in a very long time.
A bittersweet feeling of longing and disgust mixed together.
What he held was not a sword.
But even holding something similar sharpened his senses and brought the world into focus.
Even with his eyes closed, he could see their every move in slow motion, etched clearly in his mind.
He often forgot what kind of person he was,
But at times like this, he realized just how messed up he truly was.
Even when he stood with both feet on the ground,
a sense of weightlessness always seemed to take over.
And it intensified whenever he held something like this in his hand.
He had shown Selena the sword while holding a flower before,
But that was just swordsmanship forced with mana, a display of advanced technique to break her spirit.
However, a single flower petal was no different from extending his hand to face a sword.
Zeke let out a small laugh as he thought of Selena charging at him.
He was grateful that she embraced and believed in someone as broken as him.
Thump.
Thump.
His heartbeat slowly quickened.
He took a deep breath.
Right, what he held was not a sword.
It wasn't a sword, but it could be used like one.
And that made all the difference.
Zeke suppressed the rising sensation threatening to consume him.
If he lost control here, he would tear apart everything in sight, enemy or ally.
‘Right, calm down.’
Gulp.
'It'll be fine if I just use basic swordsmanship.'
Zeke swallowed and opened his eyes.
'First, a body test.'
A large fist was right in front of him.
Whoong.
Zeke moved the end of the bread and lightly nudged the side of the fist.
The man missed, his fist changing direction to punch his comrade in the face.
Whack!
“Gah!”
The man behind him, hit by his comrade's fist, clutched his face.
“What was that?!”
“No! It wasn't me! That, that guy!”
“Damn it! Forget it! Just hit him!”
The other two men, who had approached in the meantime, reached for Zeke's face.
However, with just a slight shift of his feet, their hands narrowly missed his head.
“Huh?”
Thud! Thud!
Zeke flexibly swung his arms, accurately striking the hollows beneath their Adam's apples.
That light jab was enough to stop them in their tracks, unable to breathe.
“Ghugh.”
“Gasp.”
They clutched their throats, staring at Zeke with wide, panicked eyes.
Zeke was dissatisfied with his own body.
Having completely drained his mana, his movements were clunky, like rusty hinges.
Of course, even that was considered an excellent physique in this romance fantasy world,
But to Zeke, whose standards had already skyrocketed, it was pathetic.
‘This damn body, always complaining and acting up. Tsk. How can I teach these kids with this body? I need to train too.’
Whack.
Whack.
Whack.
Whack.
Zeke swung the arm holding the bread, slapping the charging men's cheeks.
Each swing landed with precision, as if he were striking training dummies.
Their heads were violently tossed back and forth.
In reality, it was simply because Zeke's movements were unpredictable, leaving them unable to react.
They covered their faces with their arms and stumbled back.
“H-He's nothing special, I said!!”
“What the hell is this!!”
Zeke looked at them with an impassive face.
Just like that, four men had charged at him only to be defeated without even landing a single blow.
It was just one exchange,
But sensing the disparity in their skills, they simply trembled, clutching their swollen cheeks.
Kutan watched from a distance,
But he couldn't even follow Zeke's arm movements.
‘S-Shit. I picked the wrong fight. We're screwed. This isn't just any ordinary shitstorm.’
His survival instincts screamed at him.
His face pale, Kutan tried to lower his head in submission.
But Zeke spoke first.
“I have to teach the students tomorrow, but I haven't quite figured out their level yet. So, you guys can be my test subjects for today.”
“W-What?!”
Thud.
Thud.
As Zeke approached, the opponents flinched and backed away.
His steps seemed leisurely, but they were faster than they appeared.
‘This time, a destructive power test.’
Zeke lightly channeled mana into the crust of the bread and swung it with force at the first man who had charged at him.
Shhhwing!
Crash!
With a sound that defied the fact that it was caused by a loaf of bread, the man crashed through the wooden wall and flew outside.
‘Next, a speed test.’
His next target was the man who had been punched by his comrade earlier.
This time, he dashed towards him, pushing off the ground with his foot.
The bread in Zeke's hand moved too quickly to even be seen, a single thrust splitting into dozens, all aimed at his opponent.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
In an instant, the end of the bread was lodged all over the man's body.
“Ugh!”
The man coughed, his eyes rolling back as he collapsed.
Drool dribbled from the fallen man's mouth.
Two men were down in a matter of seconds.
Now only three remained, including Kutan.
Seeing this, Kutan realized that this was no longer a situation where he could try to hold out or negotiate.
‘Should I run now?’
The thought crossed his mind, but the moment he met Zeke's gaze, he knew.
That man has no intention of letting us go.
“Knife! Get your knives out!”
Kutan yelled desperately, drawing a dagger from his pocket.
At his words, the other two men also drew similar weapons.
‘Oh? These bastards?’
To be honest, Zeke had only planned to rough them up a bit and let them off with a warning.
After all, there was probably someone higher up pulling the strings.
His plan was to get them talking, find out where Soi Spoon's mother was being held, and go rescue her.
‘I was trying to keep it PG-rated since the kids were watching.’
But knives? Knives?!
A vein throbbed on Zeke’s forehead.
No matter how small the daggers were, they were still weapons meant to kill.
And this wasn't a duel or training session where both sides had agreed to a fight.
It was a declaration that they were willing to kill him if they felt like it.
Zeke glared at them, issuing a final warning.
“You dare draw your knives in front of me? One last chance. Put them away now.”
A heavy pressure and a chilling aura filled the air.
The three men trembled, their hands gripping their daggers tightly.
But Kutan shouted out in a frenzy.
“What are you doing! A-Attack him!!! You idiots!!!!! Kill him!!! Kill him!!!!”
With that, Kutan himself charged at Zeke.
Despite the warning, those bastards wouldn't let go of their knives.
Of course, this was a romance fantasy world,
So he had to deal with them accordingly.
Their fate was sealed.
‘At least I should cripple them for life.’
Zeke's mind coldly calculated the next test.
‘Might as well get some use out of them. Right, let’s test out some parrying.’
Zeke assumed a defensive stance.
He held the end of the baguette in front of him, ready to react to an attack from any direction.
“Die!!!!!!!!!”
The men gritted their teeth and lunged at Zeke with their daggers, aiming from three different directions.
Clang.
Clang!
He effortlessly deflected each incoming blade, twisting his wrist with each block.
The daggers skidded harmlessly off the side of the baguette.
As expected, daggers lacked the satisfying weight of a longsword.
Zeke clicked his tongue internally.
Of course, even with their crude attacks, their sheer number made them seem somewhat threatening.
But Zeke felt he needed a few more tests and resumed his defensive stance.
“Rraagghh!!!!”
The men lunged again in a frenzy.
Their unskilled dagger strikes were wildly thrown,
But each time, the blades simply glanced off the surface of the baguette.
Even when two daggers thrust at him simultaneously from opposite sides, they seemed to slide off as if repelled by magnets.
No matter how they tried, their knives couldn’t touch Zeke.
Realizing their attacks were futile,
Kutan threw his dagger at Zeke in desperation.
Whizz! Thud!
But with a flick of the baguette, the dagger was swatted away mid-air.
It spun through the air before lodging itself…
Shhwiiing!
Thud!
…straight through Kutan's shoulder, pinning him to the wall.
“Aaaarghh!!!”
Kutan screamed.
Blood spurted from his shoulder, staining his arm crimson.
He clutched the gaping wound and crumpled to his knees.
‘Jeez, whining over a breadstick to the shoulder. Then why even pull a knife?’
Zeke glanced at the remaining two, as if to ask if they wanted to continue.
Thud.
Thud.
As if on cue, the two men dropped their daggers and raised their hands in surrender.
‘Good, now we’re talking. You think you can threaten people with those skills?’
* * *
Soi Spoon had covered James' eyes, forcing herself to watch the entire spectacle unfolding before her.
It would be a lie to say she hadn't held a sliver of hope in the swordsmanship instructor when those thugs first barged in.
When she heard that her mother had been taken, she had even glanced at Zeke.
But even then, he had only been staring at the bread in front of him.
She had built up her own expectations based on his speech at the entrance ceremony,
But honestly, she couldn't bring herself to feel disappointed.
Right, he was a noble. He had no obligation, no relationship that compelled him to help her.
He had even made it clear just moments ago that he wouldn't teach her swordsmanship.
Yet, he had stepped in. After having tea thrown in his face, no less.
‘But… did he do that just because he was annoyed…?’
Soi Spoon frowned.
Glancing to the side, she saw Silia gaping at the scene, speechless.
Her younger brother, still covering his eyes with his hands, pleaded,
“Sis… I wanna see too…!”
“No way…”
Of course, besides the square-jawed man who got hit by his own thrown dagger, there were no gruesome scenes of blood and gore.
But the way the instructor was toying with those thugs who had threatened them, like they were children's playthings, and beating them with her bakery's baguette… it was strangely satisfying.
She couldn't let James see this, it wouldn't be good for his emotional development.
Soi Spoon’s heart pounded in her chest.
‘If I learn swordsmanship, maybe I could… No, what am I even thinking?!’
She quickly shook her head, dispelling the image of herself skillfully wielding a baguette that had popped into her mind.
Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack!
The resounding whacks of the baguette echoed through the air as the instructor continued his merciless assault.
The square-jawed man, covered in bruises, clung to his leg, tears streaming down his face.
‘He should really stop hitting them now… Ah! Mom!!!’
The thought of her kidnapped mother suddenly struck her.
“Instructor…”
Whack!
Soi remembered that her mother was being held captive by these men.
Zeke was the only one who could help her now.
‘But… would someone who just intervened out of annoyance really go that far…?’
Hesitation held her back. But she had no other choice.
She tried to call out to him again, but the beating showed no signs of stopping.
Whack!
“Uwaaagh! Stop it, you crazy bastard!”
Whack!
“C-Crazy… N-No, we’re sorry!”
Whack!
“We’re sorry! We’re sorry!”
Whack! Whack! Whack!
“Thud.”
“Whew.”
The instructor finally stopped his barrage, letting out a shallow sigh.
The men seemed conscious, but their bodies and faces were covered in dark bruises, utterly wrecked.
Just as Soi was about to call him again,
He turned to her first and spoke.
“Soi Spoon.”
“Y-Yes!?”
“I'm going to rescue your mother now.”
Soi’s eyes widened in surprise.
She hadn't expected him to address her first.
‘H-He… He remembered… I thought he forgot… I thought he didn’t care…’
A wave of emotion washed over her, hearing those words from someone she thought wouldn’t even bat an eye.
“But I have a favor to ask.”
“A-A favor?”
“Yes. Can you bring me a fresh loaf of this baguette every day for my swordsmanship class? Ah, and could you make the handle a bit smaller?”
“Y-Yes… Of course! You’ll really rescue my mother if I do?”
“I would have rescued her anyway.”
Zeke examined the baguette in his hand.
Perhaps due to the light mana infusion, it didn't even have a scratch despite clashing with the daggers.
He had found a real treasure.
Of course, being bread, it had the drawback of needing to be replaced daily.
“O-Oh… Right…”
“Ah, and one more thing. I need a new loaf right now. I’ll eat it when I get back with your mother.”
“Yes… Okay.”
“Good. I’ll be back before the bread gets cold.”
With that, Zeke kicked at the men.
“Get up. You’re leading the way.”
“I-It hurts too much to mo-...”
Whack! Whack! Whack!
“Cough! Y-You… You devil!”
Whack!
“…”
The men, realizing that staying put would only earn them more pain, forced their bruised and battered bodies to stand and shuffled out of the bakery.
Only then did Silia finally speak.
“Soi…”
“Yeah…”
“The swordsmanship instructor… Um… Are all academy students like that…?”
“I have no idea…”
‘Is he a good person?’
Tears welled up in Soi’s eyes, then quickly retreated as she looked at the broken wall.
‘No, he’s definitely weird…’
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Love the story. Thanks for the chapter
ReplyDeleteAnd thus I dub thee, the breadsword 🥖🥖
ReplyDeleteBreadsword? Breadman? Oh a breadmaster!! Excellent breadmanship
Delete