RGS Volume 3 Part 21

“C-Commander-in-Chief. Wh-when did you come in?”

“Earlier.”

If he’d come earlier, why was he still standing there?

Of course, there was no point to refute.

Before he even could, he saw him slowly raise his hand.

Raise his hand?

Abel, still half-lying on the bed, moved his wide-open eyes. Karas’ hand which is holding something, stopped in mid-air and then opened.

Toodoodook.

A black object that came out of his hand fell onto Abel’s body.

Black bugs as big as fingers. Abel’s mouth opened wide again when he saw it.

Eek!

The scream that was resonating from inside him should have come out of his mouth, but this time he was so surprised that he couldn’t even make a sound.

The bugs started to move quickly on Abel’s body, wriggling their furry legs. The bugs weren’t scary but seeing them fall onto him and move in groups on his body made him feel a new sense of fear he had never felt before. Then, Karas’ slow voice was heard.

“…I didn’t kill them.”

There was a slight sense of pride in his voice, but Abel, who was surprised, didn’t have the presence of mind to notice it. He was just too busy trying to figure out what he meant. Abel looked at the bugs again when he heard Karas say he didn’t kill them. As soon as he realized that it was the same type of bug he had saved in this room the first day, a conclusion immediately formed in his mind.

This is a warning!

It’s a warning against his audacity to interfere with Karas trying to kill the bugs before. And on top of that, to attacked in such a cunning way when his guard was down.

Indeed, the Commander-in-Chief is a terrifying person.

Abel shook off the bugs from his body with trembling hands and sat up.

Karas waited for Abel’s response as he watched him.

He seemed to like those bugs on the first day. So, he deliberately wandered around the ship, carefully catching a handful of them. In fact, he caught many more, but lacking control, he accidentally killed them, leaving only the ones that were still alive.

Still, Abel was clearly pleased. As expected, a smile appeared on his face.

Karas didn’t notice that his face turned pale, and the smile seemed awkward and stiff.

“Um, well, I mean…”

Abel finally managed to speak, and Karas tilted his head slightly to the side. Seeing his trembling voice, it seemed like he was really moved. It looks like he is pondering what words to say, but Karas could surely wait.

He didn’t fully understand it, but for the past few days, every time he saw Abel, his lower body ached. He didn’t realize why until his conversation with Kin made it clear. His body reacted this way because Abel was his. Because he needed to fully make Abel his own.

He didn’t care that his inexperience would cause pain to the other person that is going to be penetrated. Just as he was about to take a step forward, eager to put his now-heated lower body into Abel’s, Abel found the right words and shouted.

“Ah, from now on, I won’t touch the Commander-in-Chief!”

“What?”

Along with the cold question that came out of Karas’ mouth, a thud echoed through the ship’s floor. The ship shook as if it had collided with something and then came to a complete stop after a moment. However, the stillness was short-lived. Soon, the sound of several footsteps could be heard from outside. This was followed by screams from people and a command mixed with someone’s curse.

‘Ah! Why, why are you doing this?’

‘Quiet! Get on the deck quickly!’

Startled by the commotion outside, Abel jumped to his feet.

“It seems something is happening outside.”

Then, as he tried to go towards the door to go out, a large hand grabbed Abel’s arm and turned him around.

“What do you mean?”

The chilly voice snapped him back to his senses despite the urgency. Abel looked up at Karas with tense eyes.

“It looks like something bad is happening outside, so I was going to check.”

As he said that, he kindly pointed towards the door with his hand. Of course, the other person’s eyes narrowed even further. Abel quickly realized that he had said something wrong and lowered his voice.

“Instead of going out, should we hide for now?”

Even if the other person’s gaze didn’t become colder, he could tell that he said something wrong again. The grip on his arm tightened painfully, almost to the point that he almost screamed. Abel barely suppressed a groan as Karas’ angry voice followed.

“Why?”

“I-I thought it would be better to hide for now and then go out once it quiets down.”

“Why aren’t you going to touch me?”

Karas, who seemed emotionless, clearly showed his anger this time. As a result, the hand that held Abel’s arm, which was barely a handful, exerted strength as if it would break it without any consideration. The noise outside remained loud, however, Karas’ eyes and ears were solely focused on the pale figure before him.

Abel widened his eyes in pain from his arm being held tighter, Karas exerted even more strength in his hand. It felt like his bones would break, but he couldn’t perceive the irritation that clouded his mind. Instead, he exerted more strength and spat out.

“Speak.”

Along with the command, Karas roughly pulled Abel’s body towards him. Abel’s small body shook like a weak reed in response to Karas’ action. Just as Karas’ darkened grey eyes began to narrow, a flustered question arose.

“Ah, so it’s okay if I touch you?”

The question was whispered softly, but Karas heard it clearly. The unexpectedness of the words rendered him momentarily speechless.

What?

Then, an even softer voice asked.

“Wouldn’t you be upset if I touched you?”

“……”

“So, it’s not allowed?”

“……You can.”

As soon as Karas granted permission, a warm glow spread through Abel’s large green eyes that were looking up at him. Then his eyes slowly curved into a pleasant smile. It was clear that he was relieved and happy at the fact that he could touch him. The clouded darkness that had occupied Karas’ mind inside disappeared instantly as if it had been swept away under his feet.

Suddenly, his mind felt clear. He even wondered if he had ever been in a bad mood in the first place. Perhaps it had been his mistake not to grant permission sooner.

Blink. Blink.

Karas closed his slightly dazed gray eyes and opened them again and spoke to confirm, just in case.

“Yes. You can.”

“Hehe, I’m glad I can.”

“Yes.”

“Hehe―”

Others might have chided him for laughing foolishly like an idiot, however, to Karas, it was different. The laughter that honestly expressed joy was not only pleasant to hear but also made his heart flutter. And it also reminded him of the past. Someone with big, kind eyes who used to be incredibly happy with every single one of his reactions when he was young.

His heart had pounded back then as well. Especially when he looked into those green eyes. Karas raised one hand and brought it to Abel’s smiling face. And then, without realizing it, he leaned down as if he was going to kiss him, but a loud noise interrupted him from behind.

‘It’s this room!’

A rough voice sounded from outside, followed by a loud bang as the door was kicked open. The one who kicked the door open was the fake 1st Battalion Commander and three men who seemed to be his underlings. The fake 1st Battalion Commander, who had come in once before, twisted his lips as he extended his sword forward.

“I thought you two would be fooling around again. What a shame, I missed seeing you naked and squirming. Both of you, get up on deck. Now!”

The deck was like a battlefield. There, the underlings of the fake 1st Battalion Commander were swinging their swords and looting indiscriminately. Several bodies lay on the ground, some with blood spilled from having already killed a few who rebelled.

The clear sight of the dead, illuminated by the bright torches, clearly instilled a sense of warning in the others. Even though the thugs were moving things as if they were their own, dozens of people were just trembling and shivering lying on the floor. The only ones who hadn’t fallen on the floor were Karas and his companions, who had just now climbed up to the deck.

Abel, confused by the situation around him, realized that the ship had stopped near the riverbank. The thugs had already lowered a small boat and were loading the stolen goods onto it. Melmond and the butler were also standing behind the fake 1st Battalion Commander with blank expressions as if they had been dragged out of their sleep.

The fake 1st Battalion Commander, apparently having something to say to Abel’s party, approached. He grinned and pointed to the stolen goods with his chin.

“Rumors have already spread in my hometown that I will return as the 1st Battalion Commander. But I, who was supposedly the emperor’s confidant, couldn’t return home without any goods, right? The emperor, being the greedy person he is, wanted to keep everything for himself. So even though we fought to death, we didn’t gain much. So don’t frown too much, pretty boy.”

He winked at Abel and turned to Karas. Standing with his weight on one leg, he looked around with an indifferent gaze.

“Hey, you. I can tell you know how to fight just by looking at your sword. If you come under my wing, I’ll not only save your life, but I’ll also give you a share of my fortune. You see, once I return to my hometown, I will become a lord. And once I become a lord, I can achieve great success with the help of Duke Truyde. How about it?”

Karas showed no interest as if he found it bothersome, but the other reacted to his words.

“Receiving help from Duke Truyde, how is that possible?”

Abel, who was hesitating whether to step forward, cautiously asked while observing the situation, and the fake smirked.

“There is such a thing. My parents are cowards, so I have valuable information that they don’t know how to use, which will come into my hands once I become a lord.”

“Is that information a secret of Duke Truyde’s family?”

“Yes, the secret of the duke…”

The fake, who was about to respond again, stopped smiling and looked at Abel with a frown.

“The secret of the duke? What do you mean by that?”

At that moment, another sound interrupted him.

Squeak.

The sound of something scraping against the floor. Everyone’s gaze turned to Karas. Suddenly, he was holding a sword in his outstretched hand. And he stopped his gaze, which had been scanning the surroundings, on the fake and spoke.

“It means I can eliminate everyone except you.”

A low and dry voice filled the silence. As if a spell had been cast on them, everyone froze at Karas’ voice and couldn’t move. Even if they ask themselves ‘why?’, they couldn’t find an answer. They only felt a strange chill spreading inside them. And this silence spread like wildfire, stopping everyone in motion.

The deck, now as quiet as a mouse, broke its silence with the sound of someone drawing a sword. The real 1st Battalion Commander, Kin, calmly lowered his arm after drawing his sword, just like Karas. There was no sign of tension between the two. Moreover, Kin was earnestly making a request to Karas.

“Please allow me to handle everything.”

Karas replied without turning his gaze at him.

“No.”

With that one word, Kin couldn’t ask any further. Nevertheless, it was inevitable that he felt disappointed that he couldn’t kill them all. He closed his eyes tightly, then opened them, revealing a look of regret. Of course, those who saw it were astonished. Especially the fake, who had regained his senses, was dumbfounded.

What were those two doing? And they were going to eliminate everyone except him?

The fake turned his head and checked the number of his underlings, which was over 20.

“Hey, don’t you know how to count? Can’t you see how many of us there are? Moreover, you guys…”

The fake asked, looking at Abel, Melmond, and the butler.

“Did you forget that you have a group of people who are going to be hostages?”

Melmond and the butler also wanted to ask this question. They knew that Karas and Kin were strong, but they had never witnessed them fighting directly, so they were worried. If a fight were to break out, they would immediately become hostages, but those two didn’t seem to care. However, they soon found out why Karas wasn’t concerned.

“Why do you need hostages?”

He couldn’t understand the concept itself. Fortunately, Kin, who was next to him, explained as if it were familiar to him.

“Sometimes, ordinary people hold the opponent’s companions hostage to threaten them during a fight. Of course, it’s a tactic used only by cowardly people among ordinary folks.”

The fake became a cowardly person who couldn’t even fit into the category of ordinary people. However, even with the sacrifice of the fake, Karas still didn’t understand.

“Why?”

Why? Of course, they did it to win!

It was so frustrating that someone wanted to shout from the side, but Kin calmly continued his explanation.

“Because they are weak.”

Then he pointed with his finger.

“These guys are so weak that’s why they are a coward despite their numbers.”

Karas nodded, finally turning to look at the frozen cowards.

“Cowards.”

At the indifferent remark, the cowards raised their swords high. Especially the fake, who heard the word coward right in front of him, trembled with anger. He even suspected that they were provoking him in this way to prevent him from taking hostages. However, if that was the case, it was more impossible that he could let it go.

“I tried to give you a chance to live, but you’re an arrogant b*stard. Watch carefully before you die. Watch as the hostage is torn apart right in front of your eyes. Capture them!”