Hey there, chapter 2 of Almadianos is here! I’ve been asked where I bring the raws from, and well, it’s from alphapolis, like most JP novels these days, I’ll make a table of contents and whatnot later in the week, don’t worry about it 😀

Anyway, here is the chapter, I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Chapter 2

【”It’s here! The red-eyed bear is here!”】

Following the voice of his companion, Kurats took off running on a mountain road he was all too familiar with.

(―― It’s here! )

The beast’s massive body stood at a height of about 5 meters.
For this remote region’s villagers, this brutal monster used to be a threat that they could only escape from.
They would be fine if the feudal lord’s troops were dispatched to fight together against it, but given the lord’s bad financial condition, he would choose to leave the beast as is unless it caused some serious damage.

That was how brutal and dreadful the red eyed bear was.

However, at the sight of this beast, Kurats tightly clenched his fist with a smile on his face.

The villagers who had accompanied him on the way were watching over him with their eyes full of expectations.

Kurats Hans Almadianos.

This young man was going to turn 18 this year, yet he had already reached a height of over two meters and a weight of over 100 kilograms.

Despite his large build, he jumped forward soundlessly, like a wild feline, as he got closer to his prey.
His eyes did not have a hint of fear within them, they were only filled with the joy of the hunt.

Watching Kurats approach, the red eyed bear thought that a meal was serving itself on a golden plate. The beast was drooling with anticipation.

While Kurats had quite a large build for a human being, he was as small as a child when compared to the giant bear.
The bear did not anticipate just how fast and strong he actually was.

【”――Guh!”】

After heightening his speed, Kurats jumped at the monster’s bosom and punched his fist forward.

A heavy shock ran through the red eyed bear’s abdomen.

The next instant, its several tons heavy body flew in the air as if gravity had no power over it.

Kurats further pursued the flying bear and knocked him back to the ground with the heel of his foot.
It took a moment for the red eyed bear to truly feel the pain of its internal organs being shattered.
The beast was not able to understand what took place, but it instinctively knew that its life was in danger.
It realized that it was not facing a prey, but a human-shaped monster who was here to hunt and kill it.

【”Guooo!”】

This bestial roar that usually made the beast’s preys shudder had now turned into a helpless cry. It somewhat felt like it was imploring for its life.

Guided by its survival instinct, the red eyed bear used all of its power to run down the mountain without turning back.

【”Hey hey, you’ll reach the base of the mountain if you go that way!”】

“It’s normal for strong monsters to react sensibly against a strong opponent, but they usually aren’t that upfront about it” Added Kurats, with a sneer.

The bear did not look like a mighty predator at all now.

However, this was not the end of its nightmare. Before the bear realized it, Kurats caught up to it and came to block its way, pushing the beast ever further into despair.

【”Alright, let’s end this!”】

The beast’s foreleg were tightly grabbed by this human’s comparatively small palms.
The young man’s arms had no difficulty dealing with the kinetic energy generated by the beast in its hurried escape.
Like it was being attracted by a powerful magnetic force, the beast stopped moving and twitched on the spot.

【”Guooooooo!”】

The red eyed bear struggled. It could not accept that such an insane situation was happening.
Its body was so heavy that the ground would usually sink under its steps, but no matter how much power it used, even when it focused all of its body’s strength in its feet and tried to force itself out of the arms holding it, the young man still did not move in the slightest.

【”You’re quite strong. It’s been a while since I last used 30% of my strength like today.”】
【”Kuuuh”】

The red eyed bear let out a nasal cry that sounded like it had come from a pitiful puppy.
Then, so as not to wound its precious internal organs, Kurats cautiously drove two of his fingers inside the beast’s forehead.
Without any resistance, his fingers reached the red eyed bear’s brain, like two wooden stakes penetrating soil.

And so, the king of the forest was went from being the hunter to the hunted. It released a muffled short scream from the back of its throat, and it fell down to the earth, making the ground tremble under its enormous corpse.

【”He’s as unbelievable as ever…”】
【”I can’t believe he even beat a red eyed bear…”】
【”Let alone the feudal lord’s soldiers, something like this would be impossible even for the knights in the capital.”】
【”There is nothing left in this forest that can defeat Kurats, is there?”】

The young villagers who had witnessed the fight were in awe of the man’s abnormal power.
He had brought down the king of the forest.
Yet another accomplishment was added to his heroic history.
No one knew how he came to have such power despite still being only 18 years old.
However, when he went out to hunt with his father for the first time at the age of seven, he already was above the average hunter.

【”This will be a nice souvenir for the village.”】

Kurats lifted the red eyed bear’s pelt with a smile.
The fur was of quite good quality, he thought it could make a fine rug for his home.

The year’s wheat harvest had not been very good in the Gaura village, so the red eyed bear’s flesh and organs were probably going to be a very welcome extra source of income.

The younger villagers, who had been hiding to watch the fight, shouted with joy and gathered around the red eyed bear. Their village had suddenly obtained great gains.

Then, they skillfully extracted the monster’s blood and separated the flesh and organs.
The red eyed bear’s organs, especially its liver and heart, could be used as ingredients to make medicinal drugs. Such materials would reap high profits if sold to the peddlers who sometimes visited the village.

【”We’ll have another safe winter this year!”】

Afterwards, Kurats and the other villagers returned to the village triumphantly, but what was waiting for them there were the gloomy faces of the village’s adults, who were hanging their heads in shame.

【”Village chief! Take a look! Just with this red eyed bear, we’ll have a peaceful winter for sure!”】

The younger villagers were certain to receive words of gratitude in response.
The amount money earned from selling the bear would be considerable even after being divided among everyone in the village. There was no doubt that they would be allowed to be a little extravagant in the winter.
However, despite hearing such good news, the adults had grave expression on their faces.

【”Everyone, what’s going on――”】

In response to Kurats’ question, a man suddenly stepped forward in front of him. It was Ordreik, the village chief. He was an old man whose back had started becoming crooked over the years.

【”I’m sorry, Kurats. We have to hand over Cornelia to the feudal lord.”】

This news had come out like a lightning bolt out of the blue.

Kurats’ body started shaking. He felt a soul-burning anger welling up inside him.
He was usually gentle, so it was rare to see him reveal his anger like this, but nobody thought there was anything odd about that.
His anger was clearly justified.

【”…So what? Are you telling me to quietly give up my step-sister to him? Is that what this is about?”】

Kurats tightly bit his lip from rage, to the point where a line of blood ran down his chin and fell to the ground.
If this huge man were to go mad, no one in the village would be able to stop him.
The adults who were gathered there could only apologetically lower their heads to try to make him manage his anger.

【”We’d never want to do such a thing… Please tell us if you have another solution, but if not, then we have no other choice.”】

As he said so, Ordreik, despite his very old age, kneeled down and lowered his head.
Ordreik was known for his just and fair character. Since he said that there was no other way, then that surely was the case.
After all, the one responsible for this was the son of earl Hazel. He was famous for being tyrannical.
Kurats’ beautiful and lovely elder sister, Cornelia, had unfortunately caught the eye of the earl’s prodigal son when he happened to pass by the village.

(Maybe I should run away together with her?)

For Kurats, Cornelia was the only family he had left in this world.
She was only one year older than him, yet she had the tolerance of a mother towards him. In parallel, Kurats also felt a need to protect her, like she was actually younger than him.
Just imagining her being disgraced on the whims of some aristocrat was enough to push Kurats into an unfathomable anger.

Confident in his success, Kurats was determined to escape right away, but he was stopped from doing so by none other than Cornelia herself.

【”―― Giving my body is a cheap price to pay for both you and the village’s safety, brother.”】

Her pure eyes created a clear atmosphere around her. She also had finely chiseled and noble features that made one instinctively want to revere her.

Cornelia was standing in a dignified manner while holding her head high.
There was no hesitation to her words, she was filled with determination, which conversely made the villagers feel even more guilty.

The siblings had lost their parents at a young age, and yet they stuck by each other’s side and ended up growing up so well. But now they had to suffer such a fate?

Kurats’ step-sister―― Cornelia, had become a woman with a beauty that anyone would envy. Wasn’t this period supposed to be the time for her to find happiness?
Ordreik cursed this destiny.
Cornelia was like a daughter to Ordreik, he was desperately unwilling to give her to some noble who would make her his concubine.

【”…Don’t say that so easily, sister… There is no way I could be happy if I have to sacrifice you for it.”】

Said Kurats while desperately preventing his voice from becoming teary.

【”Kurats, think about the village’s people who took care of both of us…!”】

After their parents’ deaths, life became hard for the two siblings. The only reason that they were able to grow up safely when they were young was because everyone, starting from the village’s chief, had been helping them from behind the scenes.
In the first place, a child would not be able to survive in any remote village if the community was not willing to help.

Since he understood that, Kurats closed his mouth and cast his eyes down.

The Gaura village had never been wealthy in the slightest. It would easily fall to ruin if the feudal lord were to have a grudge against them and to raise their taxes.
Neither Kurats nor Cornelia would be able to pursue their own happiness if the village had to be destroyed in the process.

Kurats never felt as helpless as he was feeling now, this was torture to him.

He had trained his body more than anyone else in order to become as strong as he possibly could for the sole purpose of protecting his sister.
Nowdays, people trefered to him as the ‘mighty Kurats’ and the like. Not to mention the villagers, he was confident he would be able to defeat even the kingdom’s knights.
No, in a one-to-one fight, he was confident that not a single person in the world could defeat him.

However, despite his individual valor, he was still powerless when faced with the authority of the nobles.
Even if he were to take his sister’s hand and run away from the village, the siblings did not have any money or relatives; Kurats could not imagine a future where they would be able to live well under those circumstances.

Despair was dragging Kurats’ spirit to the depths of the abyss.

『Humph… How can you give up so soon…』

Suddenly, a voice that did not seem to really be there, echoed within Kurats’ head.
Kurats was astonished. He figured his helplessness had ended up making him go mad.

『No, you haven’t gone mad ――Seriously, this is… How can you be this cowardly while having my blood! I won’t allow this!』

For Bernst, who had always reigned as the greatest and strongest being, Kurats’ weakness was quite irritating.
He had the same genes as Bernst, yet he was in anguish over some remote region’s noble! Was he so different as a person because he was brought up in a different environment?

『Well, it’s fine. Now, be obedient and listen to me… if you want to rescue your sister, that is.』

Although he was confused, Kurats still nodded in response to this silent voice.