Time flew by.
During his stay in the Deer Village, Ruon focused on equipment maintenance and recovery. In reality, it wasn’t as grand as it sounded. He simply placed orders for armor at the blacksmith and rested until his well-toned muscles regained their vitality.
Thanks to his high health, Ruon quickly restored to peak condition, and with perfect timing, he received news that his armor had been completed at the blacksmith.
True to the blacksmith’s ambition, who claimed that his leather armor wouldn’t lose to anyone in terms of tanning quality, the craftsmanship was excellent. Ruon showed his gratitude by adding a few more silver coins to what he had promised, indicating his appreciation. With his preparations complete, Ruon immediately set out to leave the village accompanied by the villagers, who were led by Ransel.
Glancing at the crowd, Ruon spoke.
“You didn’t have to come.”
“But we should bid farewell since you’re leaving, Sir Ruon.”
“Sir, sir, sir. I’ve had enough of that nonsense.”
Even with Ruon’s despondent expression, Ransel nodded without hesitation.
“It’s only natural to address you with respect. After all, you are Tibella’s champion.”
Ruon smirked and extended his hand, which Ransel hastily grasped.
“Take care.”
“Farewell. Please take care of yourself, Sir Ruon.”
Releasing Lancel’s wrinkled hand, Ruon turned his body. As he began to leave the village, someone shouted behind him—it was Evel.
“No mere mercenary defeats demons and refuses to demand a reward! You are our hero!”
As Evel shouted, the veins popping on his neck, the villagers applauded and cheered.
“Thank you!”
“Thanks to you, we can breathe a sigh of relief!”
“Come again. We won’t charge you for staying in the inn next time!”
The faithless warrior, who had suddenly become a hero, carried the cheers on his back and steadily walked forward. The cheers of people gradually faded away, and before he knew it, a vast expanse of grassy plains unfolded before his eyes. Tilting his head back with the blowing wind, Ruon gently stroked the swaying grass with his fingertips, gazing into the distance.
“Where should I go?”
Anywhere would do for now. In this vast world, there were still countless places he hadn’t seen, which brought numerous stories still to be told.
***
“Oh, for God’s sake!”
The sound was so loud that it startled the nearby birds, causing them to fly away. Billy, the man who uttered the curse, nervously kicked his feet in the air, as if it would somehow make the wheel stuck in the mud magically come loose. But Billy didn’t stop kicking his feet, even though there was no chance of the cartwheel emerging from the mud. He felt like he would suffocate if he didn’t do something, anything.
“I shouldn’t have been greedy.”
Billy, drenched in sweat, plopped down, panting heavily.
He had tried to move closer to the river in order to save time. The waterlogged ground had swallowed the cartwheel, mocking his efforts. Billy was stuck along with the cart, helpless. That happened quite a while ago.
As he paused to catch his breath, someone entered Billy’s field of vision.
“Hey, over here! Help!”
The man who was walking down the road in the distance turned his head. After briefly glancing in his direction, he began to walk briskly towards him. Billy, smiling with excitement that someone had finally come to his aid, swallowed nervously.
The man, wearing armor and carrying an arsenal of weapons, didn’t look like an ordinary person at all.
Approaching, the man asked, “What’s the matter?”
Billy looked up at the man, who seemed to be at least a head taller than himself, and stammered.
“T-The, th-that, the wheel is stuck in the mud…”
The man silently glanced at the cart, then passed Billy. Avoiding the soft ground, he knelt down and grabbed the lower part of the cart. Surprised by his actions, Billy approached.
“Let’s do it together. It’s impossible alone… huh?”
The wheel, buried so deep that not a glimpse of the axle was visible, suddenly came out in one piece. Billy, at a loss for words, asked, “Are you perhaps a descendant of a giant?”
Billy was being sincere, but the man seemed to take it as an amusing joke and smirked.
“That wasn’t an option when creating a character.”
“A character? What’s that?”
Looking at Billy, who was puzzled by the unfamiliar word, Ruon responded.
“There is such a thing. Anyway, why did you take this path instead of the proper road? What were you planning to do if you encountered a monster?”
Upon hearing that, Billy let out a deep sigh.
“I was trying to save time, but I got too greedy.”
“Save time?”
As Ruon tilted his head, Billy cautiously whispered, as if someone might be listening.
“It’s something my brother mentioned… There’s a rumor that a war is about to break out. They say the king is heading north for a campaign.”
As Median had said. Ruon nodded, recalling the events in Grungrad. It had been a month already, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the rumors had spread far and wide.
Billy continued, “Because of that, it’s obvious that iron prices will skyrocket. Even though I’m just a peddler pushing a cart, I’m still a merchant in name. I can’t miss this opportunity, so I traveled around several villages and bought every piece of iron I could find. But damn it, all of a sudden, the royal decree was issued. To punish the merchants who were seeking profit from the war, they froze iron prices. The iron I bought for a high price quickly turned into worthless junk. I made a hasty move to sell it off… and ended up in this mess. Well, that’s the story.”
“I see.”
Ruon nodded. If even a peddler knew about such rumors, it seemed highly likely that a war would indeed occur. However, just like a month ago, Ruon had little interest in the war. He didn’t want to shed blood on the frontlines to satisfy the king’s thirst for conquest. If he were to leave for the north, it would be because of his personal journey, not because of the war.
Ruon asked, “Are there any other rumors?”
“Other rumors?”
“Anything will do.”
Scratching his chin in thought, Billy said, “I don’t know what kind of rumor you’re looking for, but recently, the only rumor I’ve heard is about a married woman being infatuated with a young man sneaking out to meet him at night. Do you want to know who’s involved?”
“…Nevermind.”
Ruon shook his head. Billy, feeling embarrassed, scratched his head and asked, “Where are you heading?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Well, how about going to Relizan with me? If we go up this hill and down the road, we’ll reach it quickly. It’s quite a big city, so maybe you can find the rumors you’re looking for there.”
Ruon nodded in response to Billy’s words.
“Alright, I’ll take you up on that.”
***
Relizan was a city with a completely different landscape from Grungrad. While Grungrad had a picturesque and charming appearance, Relizan could be called a city of unrestrained pleasure. As if to prove that, the men on the streets were covered in various tattoos from head to toe, and the women would stick out their tongues and motion suggestively whenever their eyes met.
Upon arriving in Relizan, Ruon spent his time resolving small requests posted on bulletin boards. Compared to the previous monastery, these tasks were mundane and seemingly worthless, but Ruon wasn’t particularly anxious, knowing that most tasks were like that.
As time passed, Ruon’s name spread, independent of his will. Rumors flared after he beat up six thugs who were trying to rob him and Victor, the best bare-knuckle fighter in Relizan, challenged Ruon to a fight and got his jaw shattered by a single punch.
Ruon became famous in an instant, but his daily life didn’t change much. As always, he killed monsters and entered the city with his body soaked in their blood. They had begun to call him the Slayer.
Normally, Ruon would have left the city before this kind of attention poured in. However, this time, he didn’t bother to do so because the ruler of Relizan had no interest in him whatsoever. The lord, who lived indulgently in pleasure, was famous for paying no attention to the rumors of the common people. Ruon liked that he had never seen the lord’s face.
However, he couldn’t stay in this place forever. In the past few weeks, he had resolved various incidents in and around the city, but in terms of experience, he had gained only about 20% of what he wanted. The rumors were mostly exaggerated. When he heard about a demon appearing, he went to investigate, only to find a gathering of goblins, and similar false rumors.
Especially now, equipped with his new sword, he was tired of facing pathetic monsters. Ruon thought to himself.
‘…I should leave tomorrow.’
Having organized his thoughts, he downed an ale in a single gulp. He couldn’t even feel the effects of the alcohol, but a single silver coin could buy him twenty, so he figured he might be able to force enough of them down to make himself feel it. The problem was that his stomach would get full before that.
That’s when it happened.
“Damn it! Why won’t you get out of my way?”
Ruon turned his head at the curse coming from below. He saw a man below surrounded by other men inside the bar.
“Who do you think you are, blocking the way, you bastards?”
Even while being surrounded by those unruly men, the man yelled loudly without fear. It seemed like an argument had broken out. It was a common sight in Relizan, so Ruon quickly lost interest and tried to turn his head. Or rather, he intended to.
“I’m here to meet the Slayer, why are you blocking the way?”
“Because you’re not someone who can meet him!”
What? When Ruon heard his own name spilling out of the man’s mouth with an irritating tone, he furrowed his brows. It turned out that all the men who were blocking his path were the ones who usually ardently chased after him. They were acting as if they were his unwarranted escorts.
Meanwhile, amidst the commotion, the man who had been trying to reach him started swinging his fists at the others. A fight broke out below in an instant. The pub turned into a mess, and people cheered.
“Kill him!”
“Beat him to a pulp!”
‘This is getting annoying.’
Regardless of the situation’s connection to himself, Ruon stood up from his seat to intervene and resolve the situation. However, he witnessed an unexpected scene as his eyes fell upon them.
The man who had been shouting like a whale had knocked down the others and was now spitting on the floor. Their gazes intertwined.
As the man climbed up the stairs with determination, Ruon let out a small sigh.
‘What is it this time? Some fool who thinks he can challenge me?’
As Ruon silently clenched his fist, ready for the upcoming fight,
“Please help me!”
The man who had climbed up the stairs dropped to his knees.
