“Haah, not good. They’re all dead.”
Walm let out a sigh as he struggled to deal with the bodies scattered around him.
Fortunately, the feared further attackers never showed up. And, the small fire caused by the fireball had already been extinguished.
“Sometimes, you’re useful huh.”
Walm looked at the removed mask and murmured so.
Being treated like a good-for-nothing, the demon mask vibrated in rebellion and protest.
If Walm left it in his bag when he went to bed, it would vibrate all the time. Walm never thought that thanks to hanging it from a tree, a night attack was prevented.
“Yeaーh, yeah, I’m sorry. So, be quiet. And, don’t resist.”
Bathed in fresh blood, the blood-drunk mask vibrated in a good mood. Walm managed to calm it down and stuff it into his waist bag, thus he could look at the current situation peacefully.
“I thought I was moving just outside the Dalimarx territory, but did I enter the Meisenav territory?”
In order to avoid being searched by the Dalimarx family for hurting friendly forces at the magical silver mine, Walm was moving out of their territory. However, he was attacked in his sleep by eight men who appeared to be Meisenav soldiers. They were probably the group that had patrolled the territory. He thought that it couldn’t be just those eight people, and several units must have been deployed in the vicinity.
Even though he tried to interrogate them, the sudden sword fight turned on his battle switch, and he killed them all without being able to capture even one person alive. Well, he hurriedly encouraged the only last desperate soldier, but it had so little effect in the face of the obvious fatal wounds.
“If I don’t move right away, I may get surrounded by both Meisenav and Dalimarx.”
While saying that, Walm quickly rummaged through the dead’s backpack and waist bag, and quickly collected valuable items and food. He didn’t plan to strip the clothes, but all kinds of goods and money were things that dead people wouldn’t need, so he took the mall. After all, it would be more meaningful to be consumed by others than to simply rot away in the forest.
That said, it would be a problem if the corpses turned into walking corpses. Regardless of whether there was a reason behind their actions, it was Walm who turned them into a corpse―― And he was alone, so he had to take responsibility as the culprit.
Walm, who didn’t know much about the religious beliefs and prayers of a warrior monk, was limited in what he could do. Walm himself, wondering if it was okay with sprinkling liquor instead of holy water, but he used it, lit a cigarette for offering, and put his hands together to pray.
“Please, don’t become an undead.”
Walm, who finished the sloppy cleanup, immediately left the place.
It was midnight, darkness spread everywhere, and it was very difficult to navigate through the forest with no light source. Originally, he was going to enter the Labyrinth City by crossing the Meisenav territory, but considering the warm welcome he received this time, it was urgent to change the route.
“If I remember correctly, the coastal area doesn’t belong to the Meisenav family or… the Dalimarx family either.”
Walm recalled his vague knowledge of geography.
There were only a limited number of routes to avoid Dalimarx and enter the Labyrinth City. The safest way was undoubtedly the coastal route. The Viscounty of Sanviana, which controlled the coastal area, maintained healthy territory management with marine resources and shipping using large sailing ships, and ostensibly maintained neutrality in the battle over the magical silver mine.
“I’ve decided where to go. Next, my stomach. Shredded jerky, what meat…? Well, as long as it’s safe to eat.”
Walm needed calories to stay active through the night. Besides, some of his physical strength and mana was consumed in battle. Fortunately, due to the battle just now, Walm’s food situation had improved. Since he just creating a bunch of corpses, he was reluctant to eat, but he had to stuff his stomach with something.
Walm, who was picking out the food that wasn’t contaminated with blood from the corpse, bit off the dried meat stuffed in the small bag with his back teeth. He chewed it like grinding, and after a strong saltiness, the umami overflowed. Walm, who finished a few in a row, took out another bag, grabbed the miscellaneous beans that were inside, and stuffed it into his mouth.
Chewed, broke them into pieces, and swallowed them. It was lightly roasted and also salty.
“It’s hard, and salty.”
Taking out a water bottle to satisfy his thirst, Walm bit off the dried meat again.
With no heating, the standing buffet style was done in a befitting manner of hand gripping. Really, what a fine dinner.
If possible, he would like to settle down a bit longer until the midnight meal had been fully digested, but the situation didn’t allow him.
◆
Lack of sleep, Walm’s body was wrapped in sluggish fatigue, however, the world didn’t care about it. As usual, the sun that drove out the twin moons shone high in the sky, and the morning sunshine enveloped Walm. If he had enough sleep, the sunlight would probably turn into vitality, unfortunately, the sunlight was just an unpleasant existence for him now.
A few days had passed since the night attack, to be exact, it was the fourth sunrise. Walm continued to walk, except for a small amount of sleep in the middle of the night and short breaks several times a day. He couldn’t see the shadow of the feared pursuer at all, which meant that for the time being, he had succeeded in getting out of the dangerous zone.
Still, Walm’s mind hadn’t been relieved. He pushed his way through the poor and gloomy vegetation, cautiously treading his steps on unstable footing. A ray of faint sunshine filtering through the foliage in the distance marked the end of what he thought would be an eternity.
“Will I finally see the main path?”
Walm had been walking on his own path, and now he finally saw a path that was trampled many times. Since he gained a lot of distance, it shouldn’t be a problem if he walked along the road soon.
He turned his stiff neck from fatigue and made a small smile for the first time in four days. Hips down to the ground, Walm kneeled and glared at the ground. In addition to the fresh footprints, there were faint traces of wheels. Although it was just a small amount, there were even the feces of pack beasts that pulled carts. The dung contained a lot of water, probably it hadn’t even been half a day old.
“Where should I go?”
There was no way Walm had an expensive map with him, also he was in a foreign country, a place he was completely unfamiliar with.
After thinking for a while, Walm decided to follow the most recent trails. Luckily, there were no pesky animals or plants that got in the way, and there were no insects that seemed to spring out endlessly like in the path he took these past four days.
How refreshing it would’ve been if I could just burn those flies, that clung to me during the short break, off with 《Demon Fire》?
―― Of course, there was no way Walm did such a thing. It was just a pointless thought to escape from reality. If he actually unleashed 《Demon Fire》, the one who would be in trouble and suffering, would be Walm himself, other than for distraction, there was no benefit for using such an attack.
A series of silly thoughts popped into his head as he walked on the smooth path. Observing the roadside, various information jumped into Walm’s eyes. Considering the small rocks that were thought to have been used for resting, the grass eaten by livestock, and the fact that edible vegetation had been taken and eaten away, those marks could mean that this path was frequently used as a transportation route.
At the end of the winding road, Walm finally caught the shadow of the pioneer. He tried to restrain himself so that he didn’t unconsciously speed up his steps. Unlike when he was a farmer, Walm wasn’t dressed in a friendly way now. Anyone who saw a stranger, fully armed, walking fast from behind, would treat the stranger with the utmost vigilance.
As the distance closed, the details of the shadow could be grasped. There were three people, and they were accompanied by cattle with a collar connected to the cart. Judging from their appearance, they must be peasants, but they looked quite different from the peasants of Highserk that Walm knew.
Perhaps because they were citizens of the “Three Big Countries”, or they might just happen to be rich farmers, in any case, unlike the peasants of the Highserk Empire, who often tied their loads directly to cattle and horses as pack animals, they used them to pull a wagon. The cattle also looked healthy and good, and although it walked slowly, it carried a lot of loads.
Anyway, Walm was slowly approaching from behind with extreme caution.
After noticing Walm’s presence, the trio became quite concerned about what was behind them and checked the loading platform a lot. Perhaps, because it was loaded with some kind of weapons or agricultural tools.
Their gaze was no longer hidden, and was focused on Walm. From his feet to the top of his head, then their gaze naturally focused on the longsword at his waist. Walm stood right next to them and spoke as brightly as possible.
“Yo, how are you doing?”
Including the swearing and screams from the person Walm had killed, it was the first time he had a conversation with someone in four days. Luckily, his still able to talk normally.
“Well, not bad.”
The one who responded was the one who seemed to be the oldest of the three.
“You look like an adventurer… no, a mercenary, is it? Are you going to the Meisenav territory too?”
An old man with deep wrinkles asked. He probably realized from the scars left on Walm’s equipment that seemed to be used to fight against humans rather than against monsters. Put that aside, the old man spewed out something that was worrisome.
“Ah, well, you’re right. I’m a mercenary. Besides, isn’t this the Meisenav Earldom?”
So, Walm didn’t just answer the question, but also confirmed what worried him. The man had a questioning expression on his face, but after a while, he began to reply.
“…Ah, are you an outsider? This is Viscount Sanviana territory, a territory that has nothing to do with the turmoil of the magical silver mine this time.”
In the battle over the magical silver mine, Visount Sanviana had taken a stand-by position. He seemed to be an independent-minded person. Anyway, this was the land that Walm wanted to go.
“That’s great.”
Perhaps taking Walm’s heartfelt words as sarcastic or self-deprecating, the man felt sorry and asked.
“Are you lost?”
Even if Walm got treated like a pathetic mercenary who made a mistake and couldn’t participate in the battle, he answered honestly.
“It’s the other way. I came from that magical silver mine.”
The old man’s complexion changed. It seemed he was concerned about the end of the battle. The conflict between adjacent Lords, even farmers, might get affected by the war.
“Did Meisenav win after all?”
“No, Dalimarx won overwhelmingly.”
“That greedy Meisenav lost? I’m surprised.”
Perhaps the Viscounty of Sanviana was also under pressure, the elder gleefully loosened his cheeks, but quickly returned to his original expression. He must have figured out why Walm was here, and thought that Walm must be one of the mercenaries who teamed up with Meisenav, who had been badly defeated.
It looked like the man worried that the mercenaries who had escaped had scattered around. Though it was a selfish assumption of him, Walm didn’t dare deny it.
“It was a good harvest. Personally, it wasn’t a bad fight.”
“Good to hear that.”
Perhaps it was part of courtesy, but the peasant elder congratulated Walm. They were less vigilance than expected. For the time being, the two men who had been watching Walm, who felt relieved, asked in rapid succession.
“What did you get?”
“As expected, must be gold coins or weapons, right?”
The old man frowned. The two young men must be his sons or younger relatives of him. Walm speculated that it must be the transport of the agricultural products, so the two must have come as escorts.
“Stop, it’s rude to him.”
“I, don’t mind. Well, it’s something I could show.”
Walm pulled out several daggers from his cloak so that they wouldn’t recognize they came out from a magic bag.
“Look. Wanna try holding it?”
“ “Is it okay?” “
The two spat out words of restraint, but when they received it immediately, they pulled out the blade from the sheath, as if children flocking to a new toy.
“What a thick handle”
“The handle is hollow. If you stick a staff in it, it can be a spear.”
Walms didn’t like it, as it had durability issues. Even so, there was a certain demand for short swords that could be used as spears too by inserting staff.
“Are you also a merchant?”
Seeing the two of them clamoring so, the elder held his forehead and glanced resentfully at Walm. Walm didn’t want to look like a bad merchant so he decided to give some demonstrations of the goods. Cut cucumbers and carrots with it, so as to appeal its sharpness.
“No way, just that it’s too heavy to carry around so I want to get rid of it quickly. I don’t mind selling one for five small silver coins.”
Even though it was made in rush, daggers made for fight and hunting were expensive. Considering the amount of time and effort and the iron used, the amount presented by Walm could be said to be exceptionally cheap. Since it was packed in a magic bag, the weight wasn’t a burden. Just that, the inside of the magic bag was just about a large backpack, it couldn’t hold a lot of luggage.
“Five silver coins!? Really?”
“Uncle, it’s just five silver coins.”
The two young men even revealed their relationship without being asked.
Walm gently pushed the back of the elder who was troubled by the offensive of his relatives.
“… I won’t go so far as to say tell me some secret about this area. Just that I want to know the geography of the surrounding area. That’s why, I’m selling it cheap.”
“I can’t tell you much, you know?”
“It’s already much for me. Look, I don’t even know where I am.”
Walm shrugged his shoulders as if to self-deprecate. It was unclear if that hit the right spot, but the elder quickly made the decision.
“Okay, I understand. You guys, I’ll buy it for you. But, you understand what you must do, right? I’ll have you both work hard.”
Ten silver coins were handed over, and the daggers became theirs. As they were absorbed in their new toys, Walm urged the elder with a glance.
“So, what do you want to hear?”
“I want to know the way to the nearby village or town where food and daily necessities are available, and the way to the Labyrinth City.”
Without even showing signs of thinking, the elder immediately answered Walm.
“It’s easy to get to the Labyrinth city. We’re going to wholesale our goods now.”
“Are you guys, apostles of God?”
Just at this moment, Walm didn’t mind fawning on God.
Anyway, Walm exaggeratedly gave the highest compliment.
“It’s still too early to be surprised. The town we’re going to is the Port City. There’s a sailing ship that goes to another port of this Archipelago, nearby the Labyrinth city. From there, it’s on foot, but overall, it’s faster than the land route.”
Truth, Walm had never seen the sea in this world.
While thinking about the ocean he had yet to see, he spoke.
“Ocean huh? Sounds fun.”
Realizing what he just said, Walm felt that he couldn’t make fools of young people. After all, behind those words, there was no pretentiousness or lie. He just expressed his inner kid feelings wholeheartedly.
