The Hunted Regressor: My Heretic Saint System-Chapter 14: Digging Two Graves

The silhouette standing in the middle of the dirt path didn’t move.

Ignotus stopped and tilted his head, scanning the one before him.

’The Hell is he doing here?’

Despite wearing a traveling cloak, the figure was unmistakable, especially thanks to the stiff posture of a man holding in a sneeze.

"Spoon?"

The figure jumped slightly before quickly straightening his cloak.

"Young Lord."

Ignotus walked closer, his rucksack heavy on his shoulder.

He looked at the butler, then at the empty road behind him, then back at the butler.

"What are you doing here? Did you get lost looking for a bathroom?"

Felix bowed deeply.

It was impressive that he could bow that low on uneven dirt without falling over.

"I... I anticipated that the Young Lord might find the manor... stifling after today’s events. I assumed that you would either attempt a suicide mission against the Family Head or escape under the cover of darkness. I gambled on the latter."

Ignotus stared at him.

’Hm. Not bad.’

Most people in that house had the observational skills of a brick wall. Felix, it seemed, actually had a brain rattling around in that skull of his. He had correctly predicted Ignotus’s move, packed a bag, tiny as it was, and waited in the dark like a loyal dog...

Or a desperate one.

"You want to come with me?"

Ignotus asked bluntly, and Felix answered honestly:

"I have nowhere else to go, Young Lord. After witnessing... that in the kitchen, I fear my association with you has made me a target for Lord Acer’s wrath. I figured my chances of survival were marginally higher with a maniac—merciful Lord than with the petty tyrant who poisoned his own brother."

Ignotus grinned.

"Fair point."

He swung the heavy rucksack off his shoulder.

It hit the ground with a solid thud and a clanking of items.

"Well, you’re hired. Payment is that you get to live."

Ignotus kicked the bag toward Felix.

"Carry this. It’s heavy."

Felix looked at the bag, then at Ignotus’s relaxed shoulders.

"I... of course, Young Lord... but before we move, I must ask..."

"Hm?"

"Are you a hidden genius, or have you just gone insane?"

"Yes."

"..."

Giving up on understanding his Lord, Felix hoisted the bag up and secured it against his shoulder, grunting under the weight.

Meanwhile, Ignotus, feeling much lighter and infinitely more agile, started walking down the path with a skip in his step.

"Let’s go, Spoon. The world awaits."

They walked in silence for about a minute, where the road wound down the hill, flanked by thick woods on either side.

The night was quiet, save for the crickets and Felix’s labored breathing.

But then, a sound cut through the silence.

Scrape. Thud. Scrape. Thud.

It was the rhythmic sound of metal hitting earth and digging it up.

Ignotus raised a hand and stopped nearly instantly.

Felix, almost walking into him, stumbled to a halt.

"Young Lord?"

"Shh. Stay still and enjoy the music."

Ignotus crept forward, sticking to the shadows of the tree line.

Just ahead, off the main path in a small clearing illuminated by a single lantern, four men were working, stripped to their undershirts and sweating profusely.

Ignotus recognized the armor piled nearby. He recognized the bruised heads, the black eyes, and the one guy wearing a new dry cloth over a fresh burn.

It was the kitchen guard squad.

The security force he had humiliated earlier.

His father said they were crippled... how nice.

He didn’t know such crippled people were capable of digging a hole all the way out here—quite a big one at that.

It was probably for the sous-chef Ignotus had introduced to the meat cleaver, or perhaps it was for Ignotus himself, as he likely wasn’t in their favorite people list right now.

So he stood there, his hands behind his back, just watching. Felix stood behind him, peeking over his shoulder with a pale face.

They watched for a few minutes.

Before long, one of the guards, the leader whose head Ignotus had stomped, wiped his forehead and looked up, squinting into the darkness, only for his eyes to quickly go wide.

"You..."

The other three stopped digging, following their leader’s gaze.

"What is it, Sir?"

"Do you see something?"

"Have they sent for us?"

Ignotus smiled.

"Ah... it seems they spotted us both."

They easily recognized his voice.

"IT’S THAT BASTARD!"

The lead guard’s shout echoed through the woods.

"It’s him! The trash!"

"Grab your swords!"

"We’ll bury him right here!"

They scrambled for their weapons, abandoning their shovels. The respect they had been forced to show in the manor—the "Young Lord" title—was gone. Out here in the woods, with no witnesses, their true feelings spilled out.

"You think you can just walk away?!"

The leader brandished his sword.

"After what you did to us?"

"Hah! We’re going to gut you like a fish!"

"I’m going to wear your teeth as a necklace!"

Ignotus sighed, disappointed.

"...so damned noisy. Do you kiss your mothers with these mouths? Ha? Tell me."

He stepped out of the shadows, walking calmly toward the edge of the clearing.

"But hey, look..."

Ignotus pointed at the half-dug hole.

"You’re already doing the hard work. That’s very considerate of you."

The guards paused, confused by his lack of fear.

"What are you babbling about?"

Ignotus gestured to the hole, then to himself, and then to Felix.

"Dig us two."

The leader blinked.

"What?"

"You need two graves."

Ignotus began to clarify his meaning, though that only increased their bafflement.

"One isn’t enough. I’m not sharing a hole with Spoon over there; I like my own space. So, be a dear and dig another one next to it."

The guards exchanged glances as twisted grins spread across their faces.

Their leader looked the ugliest of them, thinking that Ignotus was giving up, that the "trash" realized he was outnumbered and outmatched in the wild, and was accepting his fate.

"Oh~."

He let out a nasty chuckle.

"For you and your new friend? Sure. We can do that."

He motioned to his men.

"Dig another one and keep it shallow. They don’t deserve a deep rest."

The guards laughed and picked their shovels back up.

They kept their swords close, eyeing Ignotus suspiciously, but started digging.

Meanwhile, Ignotus walked over to a tree stump near the leader and leaned against it, looking completely at ease while watching the dirt fly.

"So, nice night for it, huh? The soil looks soft."

The leader, who was supervising rather than digging, scoffed.

"Enjoy the air while you can, kid. In minutes, you’ll be eating dirt."

"Hm. Is that so?"

Ignotus picked at his fingernails.

"You know, your people’s form is terrible... that’s not how you dig a grave. You’ve got to lift with your legs, not your back. You’ll throw something out."

Felix, standing by the road with the rucksack, looked like he was about to have a stroke.

’Why are we casually chatting? Why are we waiting for them to dig our graves? And how the Hell does the Young Lord know how to dig a damned grave?! What the Hell is going on?!’

His eyes quickly darted between the digging guards and his insane master.

Though his thoughts were going haywire, he kept quiet, knowing better than to interrupt.

"You’ve got a lot of lip for a dead man."

The leader stepped closer to Ignotus.

"I’m going to enjoy cutting that tongue out."

"I bet you say that to all the boys~."

Unfazed, Ignotus pushed off the tree stump and casually drifted behind Felix, using the butler as a human shield for a second.

"Y-Young Lord?"

Felix squeaked, and Ignotus whispered.

"Stand still."

Slowly, Ignotus drifted back out, moving toward the leader.

The leader watched him, hand on his sword hilt, but he didn’t draw.

He was confident...

He was arrogant...

He was stupid.

Ignotus stepped right next to him.

"Hey, look at that root down there."

He pointed at the hole the other three were digging.

"It looks like a skull, doesn’t it?"

The leader instinctively looked down.

"Ha? There’s no way—"

SHNK.