Huff- Huff-
As soon as Jake’s body recovered, he came out to the vacant lot behind the house and swung his sword.
Klad lingered beside him even though he had no business there, talking to him.
“Rest a bit more.”
“Thanks to resting well after so long, my body feels light. If not now, when else would I swing my sword?”
Klad couldn’t agree with those words.
The Jake he had seen until now had never had a light body, and even when his condition wasn’t good, he always swung his sword.
According to that logic, shouldn’t he normally not swing his sword?
Huff-
“I’ll go see if there’s a place where we can dispose of the horses.”
“Alright.”
They had already agreed that Jake wouldn’t accompany him when walking around this village. No matter that he had changed his hair color, Jake had visited this place with the status of Hero, and the reason was that a sharp-eyed resident might recognize him.
Even so, wasn’t it too much not to even look back when your companion was leaving?
‘What companion.’
If he said something like that for no reason, he’d probably say something like ‘You’re not a companion, you’re a servant.’ Klad poured out complaints inwardly as he led the horses.
Even while doing so, he didn’t forget to cast protective magic and fatigue recovery magic on Jake.
Huff, huff-
Even after Klad left with the horses, Jake organized his thoughts while swinging his sword.
Honestly, he was anxious. It was the first time a situation had progressed this unpredictably.
When he was appointed as Hero, what Jake had to do was clear. Gather companions and defeat the Demon King. Finding the Hero’s Sword or the descendant of the ducal family was the same—it was just that their whereabouts weren’t clear, but the fact that he had to find them remained unchanged.
It was the same with revealing the true nature of House Duke West to the world. Jake knew well how the ducal family had deceived people, and he had also learned what information they hid and how. The process of establishing a plan to correct history wasn’t difficult either.
But this time was different. Now everything was opaque.
Why was Father, who wanted to become the Hero, doing such things? What was the identity of the Black Sphere and the reason it was made? What were the future plans? What should he do to stop them? There wasn’t a single thing that was clear.
He hadn’t realized that lacking information was such a hopeless situation. It felt like dark clouds were thick before his eyes, making him hesitate to even take one step forward.
While being chased, injured, and collapsing from illness in such a frustrating state, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
Not knowing anything is quite a frightening thing.
Huff-
Jake swung his sword a bit faster.
With such a weak mental state, he couldn’t resolve anything.
If he gave up here just because there was much he didn’t know, he could never surpass House Duke West, which was trying to shake the world by grasping the power called information.
Huff-
Rustle.
Jake, who had been slicing up stray thoughts along with the sound of his sword cutting through the wind, felt a presence and retreated back as if on guard.
When he looked around carefully, there was a child who appeared to be about ten years old standing behind a tree, holding a basket containing fruit.
“Um, this…”
“Ah. Today’s meal. Thank you. Just leave it in front of the house and I’ll take care of it.”
Having confirmed the other party wasn’t an enemy, Jake began swinging his sword again.
Huff, huff-
“……”
The child put down the basket in front of the house and waited for Jake to give him payment for it. When Jake didn’t seem to have any intention of giving him money, he also looked around for the tall man who scattered silver coins everywhere.
The child, unable to find Klad, was greatly disappointed and sat by the tree to watch Jake. He planned to sit and wait until Klad came.
Huff, huff-
Jake’s appearance was far from sufficient to be called a knight, but to a child who had no chance to see knights, the very act of swinging a sword looked cool.
“Hyung, is swinging a sword fun?”
Huff-
“I want to learn the sword too. But my mom says learning things like swords is useless.”
Huff-
“All the uncles who learned swords while living in our village went to the next city and became mercenaries. I see them sometimes when they come to hunt monsters, and they all say it’s hard to make a living.”
Huff, huff-
“Monsters come down to our village really often. But it’s been quiet since yesterday…. I hope they don’t come anymore.”
Huff-
“……”
Huff-
Perhaps thinking he was being ignored by Jake, the child hung his head with a disappointed face. Fortunately for the child, Klad returned not long after.
“There’s unwelcome news. It seems it’ll be difficult to sell the horses in this village. We’ll have to go to the next city and… What’s this kid?”
“Hello. I brought those fruits.”
“Ah. Yeah, thanks.”
When Klad tossed a few copper coins, the child happily received them.
“Do it in moderation. Your wrist is going to break.”
As soon as Klad returned, he placed his hand on Jake’s wrist. Along with a cool and slightly tingling sensation, the swelling on his wrist and the throbbing pain in his palm disappeared.
“Ah. Thank you. I was so lost in thought I forgot it hurt.”
“That’s enough for today, rest. We’re leaving tomorrow morning.”
“Weren’t we staying one more day? I’m fine with moving as quickly as possible though.”
“There’s no proper place to dispose of the horses. This village already has one horse so it’s difficult to care for more than that, or something. Since we can’t travel together with a scroll, we have to take them to the next city and find them good owners.”
Even though he said he’d give them away without receiving money for the horses, the villagers weren’t enthusiastic. They could keep the horses well and sell them to passing merchants for a decent price, but for those who live day to day, the immediate today and tomorrow seemed more important than such an uncertain future.
To Klad, it seemed like they were missing out on a tremendous opportunity by being desperate about immediate losses that weren’t even much, but what could he do? The parties involved didn’t want them.
“There’s a city about 6 hours away if we ride the horses at full speed. We’ll stop by that city, dispose of the horses, and use travel magic right away.”
“Adding a schedule that only takes half a day yet moving a whole day earlier. We’ll be able to arrive much faster than originally planned. I welcome such schedule additions as much as you like.”
“If you understand, hurry inside and rest.”
Jake went inside as if pushed and took a rest.
The fruit the child brought was delicious. Though not as good as what Klad had obtained.
***
Neighhh-
Klad woke up early in the morning and prepared food for the horses. The horses seemed to be in a good mood from the more generous breakfast than usual and neighed loudly.
“Good.”
As he was patting the horses as if praising them, Jake, who had just woken from sleep, came out of the room with a refreshed face.
“Good morning, Klad. Let’s leave quickly.”
“The horses just ate. We’ll let them digest for about an hour before leaving.”
“An hour. Alright.”
While waiting, Jake finished his meal and prepared to leave. Klad said it would take 6 hours if they rode the horses at full speed, but considering his personality, the possibility of driving the horses at full speed was extremely low.
He’d probably say that pushing too hard when his body just recovered would bring the fever back, or that they should control the speed thinking of the horses.
Assuming they traveled leisurely, they could arrive at the next city before dinner time. He’d be a bit hungry, but the timing wouldn’t be bad if they disposed of the horses right away, went to Audrit, and ate.
Of course, the meal location and menu were already decided.
‘Wait. If we order but meet Neria right away without time to eat, that would be a disaster. It wouldn’t be polite if my stomach growled in front of him. I should eat some bread or something at the next city.’
As he was organizing future plans, time passed quickly. Jake came out of the room to urge them to leave quickly.
However, in front of the house was a visitor who had come to find Klad before him.
“B-big trouble… Big trouble…!”
The one who ran from far away was the child who had brought fruit the day before. The child gasped for breath and shouted urgently.
“Monsters… Monsters have attacked. Please help!”
“Monsters!”
At the words that monsters had appeared, Jake went on guard as if he would draw his sword immediately, but Klad frowned.
“That can’t be.”
“What do you mean by that, Klad? We must help before the village suffers greater damage. Where are the monsters?”
“This way!”
As the child ran back the way he came, Jake and Klad followed behind. Klad still had a disapproving face.
Fortunately, whether the monsters hadn’t come down to the village yet, it was quiet except for the people gathered at the village entrance murmuring.
“Over there, inside the mountain, monsters are gathered. Usually mercenary uncles come to save us but… today… P-please help.”
The child fidgeted restlessly and stamped his feet. He also looked around as if searching for help.
Jake spoke to the child as if to reassure him.
“We will definitely protect the village.”
“Not we, but me.”
When was it that you were careful even about sharing a piece of bread, and now you boldly step forward saying you’ll do it for the village? He didn’t particularly dislike that change, but Klad acted petty for no reason to avoid revealing those feelings.
