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Anagin Chronicles
Chapter 204 · Nov 01, 2026
Chapter List (206)
Chapter 204. Greeting (4)
Halysis, captain of the Chain Mercenary Company.
He was a rather large middle-aged man. If one had to compare him to something, he resembled a bear with a bit of extra weight. However, rather than seeming sluggish, he exuded an imposing presence.
His shaved head only added to his rugged appearance.
Yet once you actually spoke with him, he wasn’t nearly as intimidating as he looked.
“Haha, I’m truly sorry about this!”
Contrary to his massive build and fierce face, he burst into hearty laughter before offering an apology.
“To think my men would fail to recognize someone. Still, I hope you’ll understand. To be honest, it’s hard to believe we’d run into a hero who’s making such a name for himself in a place like this!”
The Chain Mercenary Company had invited Anagin to a meal because they had doubted his identity.
Even though Anagin hadn’t complained, Halysis apologized first for his men’s rudeness and asked for forgiveness.
At the same time, there wasn’t a trace of servility in his attitude.
Anagin had no particular desire to fight either, so he accepted it without making an issue of it.
Seeing that, Halysis became even more animated.
“Krrr...! Just as the rumors say—you really are broad-minded! Speaking of which, may I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not questioning your identity. It’s just that there’s something I don’t quite understand. How did someone who was staying at the Temple of Delphi end up all the way out here?”
Concerned that he might offend Anagin, Halysis carefully added one disclaimer after another despite his imposing physique.
Unfortunately for him, Anagin was slightly irritated anyway.
How did this man know he had been at the Temple of Delphi?
“Have you been spying on me?”
“Spying? Whatever do you mean? This is the first time we’ve met. How could we possibly have been spying on you?”
“I don’t really think so either, but you’re saying strange things. How do you know I was at the Temple of Delphi?”
“Haha, it’s a misunderstanding. One of our informants in Festival Village simply reported that you had visited the Temple of Delphi.”
“An informant?”
“That’s right! An informant! As you’ve probably heard, our Chain Mercenary Company is currently employed by Corinthos. We may be called a mercenary company, but we’re practically a regular army now... I trust you’ve at least heard of Corinthos.”
“The merchant nation?”
Clap!
Halysis clapped his hands, signaling that Anagin had the right answer.
“Exactly! Our Corinthos is a nation of merchants that lives by trade. And information is the lifeblood of business! That’s why we station informants all over the place. There’s no ulterior motive.”
It still sounded suspicious enough, but Anagin decided to let it slide.
At least it sounded plausible.
Besides, Halysis himself certainly looked every bit the merchant.
“Our informant reported that you, who recently made quite a name for yourself, arrived at Festival Village together with the New Argonaut Expedition Team. You stood out far too much, after all.......”
Halysis trailed off before continuing.
As naturally as breathing, he observed Anagin’s expression.
“......So how did you end up here? It’s not that you shouldn’t be here, but this place is far too far from the Temple of Delphi. I doubt you came all this way without a reason.”
Anagin hesitated over whether to answer.
It wasn’t exactly a secret, but explaining it sounded like a hassle.
Then again, refusing to explain would probably become an even bigger hassle.
After a brief moment of consideration, he decided to tell the truth.
“It’s a bit of a long story, but I came here with the Magno mages to beat up the Barbaroi Cult.”
A great deal had been left out, but what he said was still true.
He had come with the Magno mages, and they had beaten up the Barbaroi Cult.
In a way, he had simply omitted the unnecessary details and gotten straight to the point.
“Speaking of which, were there any mages around here?”
“There weren’t.”
Anagin looked at Halysis, then at Spanich standing beside him.
Judging by their reactions, they weren’t lying.
Apparently, those mages had either failed to escape and ended up as fish food at the bottom of the sea...
Or they had fled long before that.
Whichever it was, Anagin decided not to dwell on it.
They had worked together for a while, so it was a little regrettable.
Just... a little.
He chose to focus on the matter in front of him instead.
“Hah, what an incredible coincidence. We also came here to wipe out the Barbaroi Cult. It almost feels like fate.”
“I don’t like fate.”
“To tell the truth, neither do I! A big brute like me using the word fate with another man instead of a woman... isn’t that a bit horrifying?”
Living up to his reputation as the captain of mercenaries from a nation of merchants, Halysis deftly turned Anagin’s curt response into a joke.
Ordinarily, this would have been enough to ease Anagin’s guard.
But not this time.
The sound wasn’t loud, but he could hear the gears turning inside Halysis’s head.
A sound Anagin didn’t particularly care for.
Even so, he didn’t get up and leave.
Because Halysis openly admitted that he was scheming.
“But that’s not actually our real objective.”
Leaning forward in a manner that didn’t suit his massive frame, Halysis raised one hand to cover his mouth and lowered his voice, as though entrusting Anagin with a secret.
“The Barbaroi Cult is only an excuse. Our true purpose is to expand Corinthos’s settlements.”
“Settlements?”
“That’s right. Corinthos has grown too crowded, so we need to spread people out.”
Even though Anagin hadn’t asked, Halysis explained in detail.
Whenever the city’s population grew too large, they selected suitable people and sent them to develop Anapik.
If fortune favored them and the settlement succeeded, not only would Corinthos expand its influence, but it would also gain a new trading partner and reap considerable profits.
“So finding promising places to settle is one of our most important tasks. Sometimes... we even take them by force.......”
“So the real reason you attacked this place was to claim a new settlement? The Barbaroi Cult was just an excuse?”
“Exactly!”
To most people, it would have sounded like a thoroughly vile story.
Anagin, however, felt nothing in particular.
Perhaps because the people on the receiving end had been collaborators of the Barbaroi Cult, all he thought was, I see.
If beasts that ruined fields fought each other, what difference did it make which side lost?
The important thing was simply that there were fewer of them.
Still, one question remained.
“Is it really okay to tell me all that?”
It was a little too honest to reveal to someone you’d only met that day.
Usually, people who spoke this frankly had another motive.
“It’s no great issue. Everyone who knows anything already knows that Corinthos is blinded by profit and black-hearted to the core. To begin with, the man who founded the nation was.......”
“Hm?”
“Ah, my apologies. We can save the boring history lesson for another time. If you don’t mind my asking, what happened to the Barbaroi Cult? Was it your group that defeated them?”
“We got them, though one of them escaped.”
Strictly speaking, it was a bit of an exaggeration to call it a complete victory, but Anagin gave the simplest answer.
Explaining how the bishop of the Barbaroi Cult had escaped, how he had defeated the traitorous fisherman mage, and how the leader of the Barbaroi Cult had suddenly appeared would have been far too troublesome.
So he summarized only the essential parts.
He explained that they had almost defeated the bishop who had been impersonating a mermaid, but the woman had escaped at the last moment.
It was the truth, so there was nothing wrong with saying it.
Apparently, that was enough.
Halysis nodded in understanding, though he did ask one more question.
“Hmm. By any chance, did you happen to see any prisoners?”
“Who knows?”
Anagin feigned ignorance.
For the same reason he had glossed over the earlier details.
Explaining everything one by one was simply too much trouble.
Fortunately, Halysis didn’t press the matter.
“I see.”
“Are you finished asking questions?”
“Ah, just one more. Nothing major. Did the people of this fishing village truly repent and stand against the Barbaroi Cult?”
“Why do you ask?”
“If they did, we’ll simply drive them out. But if they didn’t, we’ll take them away as slaves. Sinners who worshipped beasts and offered up human sacrifices must repay their crimes through backbreaking labor until their bones—”
“—They never repented, and they never resisted. They only did it because I told them to.”
The moment Halysis finished explaining, Anagin answered without hesitation.
Those bastards were rotten to the core.
* * *
“Yaaaaaaargh......! I’ll curse you! Curse you!!”
With Anagin’s answer, the villagers of Nereid Fishing Village were condemned to slavery.
Several of them screamed curses at Anagin into the empty air.
Anagin found it utterly ridiculous.
What exactly did they have to complain about?
It wasn’t as though he had held a sword to their throats and forced them to betray the mermaids and side with the Barbaroi Cult.
They had made that choice themselves.
Fortunately, the curses didn’t last long.
“Silence!”
Whoosh-!
“Ghk-!”
True to both their name and their emblem, the Chain Mercenary Company was exceptionally skilled with chains.
One of the chains lashed across the noisy village chief’s face, teaching him the virtue of silence.
The chief’s face caved in from the blow, his flesh tearing open.
Seeing this, the villagers forcibly swallowed the screams threatening to escape their throats and accepted their fate.
Not that refusing to accept it would change anything.
Having personally restored discipline with his chain, Halysis smiled brightly once more.
“It’s getting late. Why don’t you stay the night? You took care of such a troublesome matter in our stead, so we’d like to show our gratitude.”
After a brief moment of thought, Anagin accepted.
Just as Halysis had said, night was already falling.
Fortunately, it turned out to be a good decision.
“You must be tired, so we’ll bring the food directly to your tent.”
Despite looking like a bear, Halysis was remarkably perceptive.
Once he had learned everything he wanted to know, he didn’t continue bothering Anagin.
That didn’t mean he neglected his guests, however.
Living up to his status as the captain of mercenaries from a merchant nation, he provided Anagin with a luxurious furnished tent.
The food was equally impressive.
It was unusual, yet delicious.
Everything had a stimulating blend of pungent, sour, and spicy flavors that made it strangely addictive.
“Southern Hellas is famous for its spices.”
Sphinx, who was eating at the same table, casually chimed in.
“Oh? So you’re over it now? Earlier you looked so gloomy that I thought, Here we go again.”
“......Did you really have to do that?”
Sphinx hesitated, but ultimately asked.
“Do what?”
“You turned everyone here into slaves.”
“You don’t tell me you’ve grown attached to them too?”
Anagin asked with an exasperated look.
No matter how easily she grew attached to people, this was a bit much.
He could understand if it were the siblings Kori and Pais, the Magno mages, the New Argonaut Expedition Team, or even that female subordinate.
But getting attached to people who had sided with the Barbaroi Cult?
That honestly left him dumbfounded.
Especially when she hadn’t even known them long enough to grow attached in the first place.
“It’s not that, it’s just.......”
“Just what?”
“I don’t think slavery is the answer.”
“You mean working under the blazing sun until your bones break?”
“Yeah. I’ve seen it before, and... it wasn’t exactly pleasant to watch.”
“Good. That’s exactly what I wanted.”
Even Anagin had been unsure what to do with the people of Nereid Fishing Village.
Killing them all felt excessive.
But simply leaving them alone didn’t sit right either.
It was like spotting cockroaches in your house and pretending they weren’t there.
Then the compromise of slavery had presented itself.
And Anagin hadn’t let the opportunity slip by.
They would suffer without him having to personally beat each of them to death.
It was killing two birds with one stone.
“I want those bastards to suffer.”
“......Do you really hate the followers of the Barbaroi Cult that much?”
“No. I just hate the way they act. They’re disgusting.... Horsehead.”
Anagin turned toward Horsehead, who was also sitting at the table eating.
Thinking Anagin was asking for his opinion, Horsehead spouted nonsense.
“I... do believe they deserve punishment, but not like this. It would have been better to execute them swift—”
“What the hell are you talking about? I was asking why you’re eating. Aren’t spirits supposed to be able to go without food?”
Anagin voiced a small question that had been bothering him for a long time.
Horsehead occasionally sat down and joined them for meals.
He genuinely wondered whether it was actually necessary.
Why would a spirit need to eat?
I barely have enough food for myself.
(T/N): LOL GREEDY ANAGIN
“.......”
Horsehead stared at Anagin in silence.
His eyes seemed to say, You son of a bitch.
Ignoring the look, Anagin turned back to Sphinx.
“Oh, by the way, isn’t it a shame?”
“What is?”
“Spanich. Halysis interrupted you two, so your conversation got cut off. Want me to call him over? If I ask, I think they’ll bring him.”
Sphinx actually paused to consider it.
“......No, it’s fine. Meeting him again was enough. Besides, he looked busy.”
Since Sphinx answered that way, Anagin let the matter drop.
Just as she had said, this seemed like the perfect way to part ways.
Not long after they finished their meal and chatted for a while, Anagin went to bed early.
Naturally, he woke up early as well.
’Though those guys got up even earlier.’
When Anagin stepped outside his tent to enjoy the fresh morning air, he saw the villagers of Nereid being fitted with shackles connected by chains.
“The early bird catches the worm, wouldn’t you agree?”
Halysis, the captain of the mercenary company, appeared beside him and struck up a conversation.
“Were you waiting for me?”
“Haha! Of course not. I simply get up early and do my work.”
“So you’re leaving now?”
“Not me. My men will escort them. I intend to search the surrounding area for more sinners.”
As he spoke, the chain wrapped around Halysis’s waist slithered like a snake.
It was presumably his Blessing.
“So I still have time to treat you to breakfast.”
“Oh, I like the sound of that.”
Anagin responded happily.
He had enjoyed the food here far more than he had expected.
Seeing that, Halysis cautiously asked,
“If you don’t mind my asking, where are you headed after this?”
“Why?”
“If it’s all right with you, I’d like to invite you to Corinthos. Corinthos enjoys making friends with heroes.”
“I’m not a hero.”
“How could you not be? You distinguished yourself in the Kingdom of Arcadia, and when you visited the Temple of Delphi, you were the only one who met the Oracle! Ah! Have you heard?”
Halysis smoothly brought up the matter of the Temple of Delphi.
“You mean the Oracle turning into a lump of gold?”
“Ah! So you have heard! I thought you might not have since you’ve been all the way out here!”
In his usual over-the-top manner, Halysis launched into a lengthy account of how the Oracle had been attacked and turned into gold, embellishing it with all sorts of outrageous rumors.
All the while, Anagin could hear the gears turning inside Halysis’s head.
After listening to it for a while—
“So?”
“Hm?”
“What is it you’re actually trying to say?”
Anagin demanded that he get to the point.
People only became this talkative when they wanted something.
Halysis grinned.
“Would you be willing to join the campaign against Midas on behalf of Corinthos?”
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