Episode 37 - Pied Piper 4

The ears — large, round, and twitching slightly — revealed between strands of brown hair that matched the color of the sewer rats he commanded.

They moved a little, and then he pulled the robe back over his head.

"What? Why are you covering up again?"
"It's just... it's been a very long time since I've shown that to anyone."
"...A shy boy, then."
"Sh-shut up..."

Kaftin snickered at that for a moment, then tossed the hunchback he had been holding down at the newcomer's feet.

"Yeek!"
"Right then. First assignment."
"......?"
"Show me what you and your rat army can do with him."

The hunchback, who grasped the implication immediately, went white.
He snapped his head up:

"W-wait a minute, big brother?! You made a promise! You said you'd let me live — said if I guided you properly you'd let me live—!"
"Hmm...? Did I?"
"H-hey—?!"
"Hahahaha... don't get so upset. I kept my word — I just 'let you go,' didn't I? You're free to run wherever you like now."
"Then why—!"

The last expression seared into the hunchback's eyes was the smile of a devil — nothing more, nothing less.

"Because I said I wouldn't kill you. I never said anything about what he might or might not do. Not a lie, not a broken promise — no problem at all. You just need to run from here as fast as your legs will carry you..."
"Ngh—! You absolute devil—!"
"Heheheh... go on then. Before my new friend changes his mind — I'd put those two legs to good use if I were you."

The hunchback finally bit down, turned, and sprinted for the exit.
Kaftin watched him go over his shoulder, then returned his gaze to his new companion.

"Well. Make your choice. Deal with him and prove your worth — or show mercy and stay here as you are."
"...You're the worst."
"Hfheheh... nothing new about that."
"Well... I suppose at this point there's nothing left to hesitate over."

He seemed to have made his decision. He raised the pipe to his lips again.
A slow melody began — and the rat horde surged forward like a black tide, moving toward the hunchback.

"Yeek?! D-don't come near me! Stay back! I hate rats—!"

His rat phobia revealed far too late, he ran for his life.
The exit was barely two meters away.
If he could just get outside, his chances would jump considerably —

"Gyaaaaaah—!"

The melody behind him picked up pace, just slightly.
The rat tide surged faster in response — and then:

"...Ratapult position—!"

A single discordant squeak rang out, as if a note had been flubbed — and pairs of rats began pairing off, one lying on its back while the other gripped its legs.

Locked together, they began rolling like wheels — and using the centrifugal force they built up, they started launching themselves like stones from a catapult.

"Wh—?!"

He reached the doorway and grabbed the frame — and felt a dull impact on his back.
The sensation was horrifying enough to make his skin crawl, but he drove his arms forward anyway, pulling himself toward the door.

"Gyaaaaaah—!"

But the rats launched themselves again and again in time with the pipe, and by the time his body was halfway through the door, dozens of rats had already clung to his back, biting.

"Ow! Ow — get off! Get OFF me! Aaaaaagh—!"

He clawed desperately at the rats trying to bite his wrists and fingers as they worked to keep the door from closing — somehow managing to shake them loose.
But by then, he was already surrounded by a black wave of rats on the outside.

The hunchback, face drained of all color, stared blankly ahead for a moment — then crumpled to his knees, sobbing, facing toward Kaftin watching from inside the building.

"N-no...! Stop! Please...! B-big brother...! Please... I want to... live—!"

At the sight of it, the Pied Piper's melody faded.
Kaftin said nothing. He simply smiled, raised his thumb — and slowly turned it downward.
An unmistakable signal.

"Please—! B-big brother—! Aaaaaaargh—?!"

A terrible scream.
The sound of gnawing.
Blood spreading across the floor.
The rat horde seethed and surged and covered the hunchback completely.

When they scattered, there was no longer a person there.
Only scattered fragments of bone.

Kaftin watched from start to finish with a composed expression, then broke into a satisfied smile and applauded.

"Magnificent...! That's exactly it. You really are exactly the kind of person I've been looking for..."
"......"

Unlike Kaftin, his new companion stood in silence with his head tilted down at an uncomfortable angle — clearly unsettled.
He had agreed to this partnership to clear his ancestor's name. That was the reason.

But — were the things he was about to do truly going to help with that?
Doubt was rising in his mind.
It might not be too late even now. He could tell the man he was withdrawing, right here and now.

"Something wrong...? Please don't tell me that was your first kill."
"...It was my first kill."
"...Oh. You actually live here, don't you? This is a rotting hole full of nothing but the worst vermin imaginable."
"...I've had my rat friends. No one ever tried to approach me before."
"Ah. That would do it."
"You're the strange one. A lunatic who actually wants to take someone like me along with him..."

He stopped mid-sentence and realized.
He had no other options.
Or rather — the only option available to him was the dangerous hand being extended by the man in front of him.
Waiting here until one day he could surface and stand beside a hero as an ally, earning his name and washing away his ancestor's shame — the path leading to that dream was pointing in the exact opposite direction.

"......"

When he didn't take the hand, Kaftin gave a small shrug, withdrew it, and simply gestured for him to follow.
His own form of consideration, perhaps.
His new companion let out a long sigh at the state of his situation and began walking after him, trudging.

He had no idea that this road would soon change his life beyond recognition.

*

The Pied Piper — Platt — was given his first assignment: escorting Conquere and Whispermere.
The surprisingly ordinary nature of the work put him somewhat at ease.

"Is — is that really all...?"
"Yes. That's everything for now."
"For now, meaning... later there'll be..."
"Yes... the fun massacres come after I've gathered enough people to build the organization I have in mind. Looking forward to it?"
"...No. Not at all."
"Hahah! What a shame. You'd better get used to it — you'll be seeing enough blood to get tired of it soon enough. Well — your rat friends seem happy about the prospect of a full stomach, at any rate..."

Platt flinched at the casual remark and grabbed Kaftin's sleeve, stopping him.

"Wait — you... don't tell me."
"Hm? What?"
"...Can you understand what my friends are saying?"

Both women perked up and listened in as well.
They already knew Kaftin's abilities were far from ordinary — but understanding animal speech was something else entirely.

And yet Kaftin was nodding with a smirk, not the least bit embarrassed about it.

"Of course. Well — a little. Isn't that basic?"
"It absolutely is not!"

Whispermere finally couldn't hold it in and shouted it. Kaftin looked briefly startled.

"She's right. That is not normal. Understanding animals... what exactly are you?"
"Hold on, that's not quite what I meant. Listen — animals have their own ways of communicating. You know that, right?"
"...Well, yes..."
"I'm just picking that up through knowledge from my memory fragments. It's not like I literally hear voices or anything. Don't misunderstand."
"What kind of..."

Different from what they'd imagined — but no less absurd.
Understanding animal language was still understanding animal language.

"You really are something else..."
"Heheheh... why? I'm an extraordinary genius who'll be written into the history books. Of course I can do something like this."
"If you have that kind of remarkable talent, then why on earth do you..."
"Do insane things?"
"Y-yes..."
"Because it's fun. That's all."
"......!"

Platt, who had been foolish enough to hope for a reasonable answer, shook his head and sank.

"You really are..."
"Heheheh... what else would it be? In a world full of violence and suffering, the most important thing is that I enjoy myself."

Throughout all of this, Conquere alone was nodding along with him in agreement.

Having spent her entire life being abused from the moment she was born a half-blood, it seemed there was no small amount that resonated with her.

"Hm..."

Finding her endearing in that moment, Kaftin reached over and gave her head a brief pat, wearing a rare gentle smile — then got to his feet.

To restore order to the district and take control of it, he needed to build his organization as fast as possible.
Which meant he had to go out and recruit the next candidate for a senior position.

"Oh — if a week goes by and I haven't come back..."
"......?"
"...Assume I'm dead and handle things on your own."
"......?!"

He said it as casually as someone commenting on the weather and turned to leave — and both Whispermere and Conquere grabbed his sleeve.

"W-wait a moment—! What does that mean?! You said you were going to someone you know—!"
"Yes. Which is why I said if I'm not back, I'm dead."
"Why would that happen?! Give me an explanation!"
"Ahh... how do I put this..."

He scratched his head, clearly awkward at receiving worry, and began to explain.

The person he was going to bring back was someone he had encountered occasionally during his time living with his master — an acquaintance of sorts.

A tiger demi-human who had built a dwelling near the mountain summit where his master had lived, and was living there in the middle of a grueling training regimen as a martial artist.

The problem was that while this person and his master had gotten along well, his relationship with Kaftin himself had been anything but.
He was the one who had guided Kaftin to his master in the first place — but he had consistently argued for Kaftin to be killed.

His master had chosen to take Kaftin in regardless, and the result was that Kaftin was standing here today.

"Even so — someone wouldn't try to kill a friend's student just because they dislike them..."

Kaftin let out a small sigh.
With this person, deception and clever tricks would not work.
Even if they did, getting caught later would leave no way to recover the situation.
So he intended to go in with complete honesty and force his way through.

He considered for a moment whether to share this next part with them — then decided, with a general sense of well, it'll work out somehow, to open his mouth.

"I'm going to go to him, tell him something important, and ask him to come work with me."
"Something important...?"
"Yes."
"What is it?"

"...Vesren. The one who killed my master... was me."
"......!!"

—To be continued—