Chapter 9 - The Bandit Gang
While holed up in the Forbidden Archive, I came to a certain realization.
Reading... was so damn fun!
What the hell? Books were this interesting?
Every time I gained new knowledge, my world—one I had never known—expanded more and more.
Back in my old life, I had barely read any books... what a waste that had been.
...No, wait. That wasn’t quite right.
The reason reading was so fun now was because the original Hollow had a sharp mind.
If the me from my past life had tried reading anything complicated, I’d have been dreaming in under three seconds.
Really, talent was downright unfair.
By day, I devoted myself to swordsmanship and magic training. By night, I quietly honed my intellect in the Forbidden Archive.
About half a year passed in that rhythm before a problem arose in Heisenberg territory.
Apparently, a bandit gang had taken up residence in the northern part of the domain, rampaging under the cover of night.
According to Mister Orvin:
“Our house’s private soldiers, who are tasked with maintaining security in the north, are attempting to suppress them... but the enemy seems to be fairly skilled, and we’re having trouble dealing with them.”
This... could be useful.
With that thought, I headed to my father’s office and proposed a hobby-meets-practicality mission—a bandit hunt.
“What? You’re saying you’ll deal with the bandits...?”
“Yes. I would like to humbly request my appointment.”
When I voiced my strong desire, Father paused his paperwork and stroked his beard in thought.
“Hmm... Orvin, what do you think?”
Orvin, standing behind Father, immediately replied:
“If it is Young Lord Hollow, I believe there would be no problem whatsoever.”
“I see... (Hollow overcame the Witch’s Trial alone. He’s turning eleven this year... perhaps it’s time to entrust him with work of this nature.)”
After a moment’s deliberation, Father slowly nodded.
“Very well. I’ll put you in charge of this matter. You understand, of course, that as the future heir to the House of Heisenberg, you will not be permitted to handle this lightly?”
“Yes, Sir. I understand.”
And so—tonight was going to be a delightful little bandit hunt!
From morning until evening, I went through my muscle training, swordsmanship, and magic drills—then welcomed the long-awaited night.
I donned a black robe, pulled the hood low over my eyes, and made my way to the northern town of Heisenberg territory.
Now then... where are those bandits?
As I wandered aimlessly through an empty back alley—
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaa?!”
A shrill female scream rang out from somewhere far away.
Oh? Over there, huh?
I headed toward the voice and arrived at a crumbling tavern, its ceiling partially collapsed.
And there I saw...
“Heh heh heh! Don’t bother resisting!”
“N-no... Please, stop...!”
A lustful man had pushed down a young woman, tearing her clothes to shreds.
“Hoo boy, this is a fine piece! Look at that body!”
“Why... why would you do something so horrible...?”
“Heh heh, remember this, girlie! This world’s survival of the fittest—might makes right!”
“Then I guess I’m justice.”
I dashed forward and lightly kicked the back of the man’s head.
“Ogh?!”
With a strange cry, he was sent flying far, far away.
“Hah, that was a satisfying launch.”
Shaking my shoulders with a chuckle, I noticed the young woman looking up at me anxiously.
“Lord Hollow...?”
“It’s dangerous here. Get back, quickly.”
Saying that, I carelessly stripped off my robe and tossed it to her.
If she ran around dressed like that, she might end up in another incident.
“B-but... I can’t just leave you behind, Lord Hollow—”
“...What, are you saying you can’t follow my orders?”
I sharpened my crimson eyes and let my tone harden slightly.
“M-my deepest apologies...!”
She flinched, quickly threw on the black robe, and hurried toward the main street.
Hmm... maybe I scared her a little too much.
But no—remember, I had to play the part of the “lazy, arrogant, villainous noble.”
She hadn’t been attacked by Bandit A, so I hoped she’d call it even.
While I was thinking that, about thirty men surrounded me.
In their hands were daggers, clubs, axes—plenty of nasty-looking weapons.
Amid the dangerous atmosphere, a hulking man sat atop a beer barrel, lighting an extra-thick cigar.
According to my knowledge of the original story... his name was Glad Glanz, fifty years old, and if I recall correctly, the boss of this bandit gang.
Glad inhaled a deep lungful of white smoke and let it out in a blissfully satisfied exhale.
“Fuuuu...”
Unfortunately, I was downwind, and the stench of nicotine stabbed straight up my nose.
Hey, come on—what did this guy think he was doing to a still-growing child’s body?
Secondhand smoke could cause some serious harm to a young person’s healthy development, you know.
I waved the smoke away with my right hand, earning a mocking smirk from Glad.
“Kekeke... Got swept up in a moment’s sense of justice, did you? I don’t know which brat you are, but you’re a rare kind of fool these days.”
“Honestly, not even knowing the face of your future lord... I’m too stunned to even speak.”
As our eyes locked, the man directly behind me suddenly lost his temper.
“Who the hell do you think you’re mouthing off to, you little shit?!”
He grabbed my head, intending to slam me straight into the ground.
The next instant—Shwoop!—the man was swallowed into the Void.
“““...Huh...?”””
The bandits froze, eyes wide.
Not surprising—one of their own had just vanished into thin air.
“You... that magic...?!”
Glad’s eyes trembled with shock.
“What’s the matter? You don’t look so good. Don’t tell me... you’re actually scared of a little kid?”
The moment I flashed a provocative grin—
“Y-you’ve gotta be shitting me, you bastard!!”
The hot-headed bandits charged at once.
“You idiots, fall back!!”
Glad’s desperate warning went unheard...
Shwoop.
Shwooop.
Shwooooop.
“B-boss, save me—”
One by one, the bandits were swallowed by the Void.
“So, what’ll it be, Boss~?”
With a wicked smile plastered on my face, I strolled toward Glad.
“You... that magic... Xeno the Calamity’s <Voi—”
Shwoop.
Glad too was swallowed, and then—no one remained.
The bandit gang was annihilated, the town cleansed.
The end, happily ever after.
I returned to the manor and reported to Father.
“Father, I have dealt with the bandit gang.”
“Hm. That was quick. Where have you detained them?”
“Nowhere. I’ve eliminated them all.”
“...Oh?”
Father’s eyes widened.
Eradicated an entire gang in one night, killed every member... At eleven years old, does he already have such resolve? When I was Hollow’s age, could I have shown this much ability? Unmatched problem-solving speed... the strength to repel an entire band... the cold heart to kill without hesitation... As expected of my son.
His brows softened, and he nodded in satisfaction.
“Well done, Hollow. You may retire for today.”
“Please excuse me then.”
I left the office, returned to my quarters—and leapt into the Void Realm.
It was an endless white expanse.
A sealed world belonging only to me, master of the Void.
Everything I absorbed or banished outside ended up stored in this special space.
...Looking at it again, it’s kind of a mess.
Mountains, boulders, dirt, and all sorts of other odds and ends from my Void-training days were scattered everywhere.
Among them, of course, were the bandits I had just sucked in.
“Hey there, everyone. Glad to see you’re looking well.”
Dropping the act of the original Hollow, I let my true self come out.
Keeping up the lazy, arrogant facade was honestly exhausting.
Since these people could never leave the Void Realm for the rest of their lives, I figured there was no harm in showing my natural side.
“Ah, you bastard! So you’re the spoiled brat of the Heisenberg family!”
“Hollow von Heisenberg—there’s no way I’m forgetting that face!”
“Let us out of here, now! Or I swear I’ll kill you!”
Ah, such a sad thing—an endless parade of foul-mouthed insults.
“If you really want to leave that badly, I could let you out... but it would be in front of my father.”
“““...”””
The bandits’ faces drained of color in an instant.
My father, Daphnes von Heisenberg, was feared as an extreme villainous noble and a major figure in the underworld.
What made him terrifying wasn’t his title—it was his overwhelming power.
The truth was, dear Papa was absurdly strong.
Godlike mastery of magic, monstrous reserves of mana...
And most of all, his Origin-Class Unique Magic, <Affectation>, was outright cheat-level.
My <Void> and Father’s <Affectation> were frequent subjects of “Who’s the strongest?” debates on the Ronzolkia forums.
“If you leave the Void Realm, Father will kill you. Even if by some miracle you earn his mercy in the moment, Heisenberg law is harsh—life imprisonment or public execution is guaranteed. In that case, why not just live here happily instead?”
I offered the suggestion in my kindest tone—
“Y-you lunatic...!”
“You’re a damn psychopath! How the hell are we supposed to ‘live happily’ in a place with nothing?!”
“You rotten bastard! Don’t you have a shred of human decency?!”
Lunatic, psychopath, rotten bastard—the insults flew freely from the bandit gang.
“Honestly... putting yourselves on a pedestal and running your mouths. Do you have any idea how many people cried because of what you did?”
“““Ugh...”””
Hit by the punch of pure logic, the bandits fell silent in the most obvious way possible.
“D-damn it... In that case, we’ll just kill you and escape somewhere far from that wicked lord Daphnes!”
Bandit A drew a kitchen knife—
“Stop. Don’t bother, it’s a waste of time.”
At last, the boss of the bandit gang, Glad Glanz—who had stayed silent until now—spoke up to halt them.
“That brat’s using <Void>. The exact same Origin-Class Unique Magic as the worst mage in history—Xeno ‘The Calamity’.”
“X-Xeno the Calamity...? You mean the Xeno from the fairy tales?!”
“You’re telling me that little shit is using the same magic as a monster like that?!”
“Wait... so that means he’s seriously strong...?”
To their barrage of questions, Glad gave a grave nod.
“Strong doesn’t even begin to cover it... He’s a genuine monster. Even if the entire royal army came at him at once, they wouldn’t so much as scratch him.”
“““...”””
Knowing the hopeless difference in power, the bandits’ faces grew paler and paler.
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