episode_0006

The tavern is truly a fascinating place.

No matter how many years pass, and no matter where you go, there is one tradition that never changes.

“You hit someone on the head with a wine bottle?!”

“You crazy bastard!”

Once the spark of a fight ignites, it erupts in various places one after another, that was the tradition.

Those who have drunk excessively to the point of impaired judgment are prone to easily getting agitated.

Even those who have nothing to do with the fight would rush in like a fire when inevitable physical contact occurs.

Knowing this culture of the tavern, I initiated the fight by hitting someone with a wine bottle.

Then, I threw a beer glass that was nearby towards the servant behind the mercenaries.

The man who was cheerfully drinking his alcohol ended up spitting out his drink as he received a blow to the back of his head.

He turned around with a severely distorted face.

“They did it.”

“What?!”

The mercenaries were taken aback, not knowing how to deal with me, who was shamelessly lying.

It was unnecessary to explain which side looked like the culprit in the eyes of the drunken brawlers.

“Are these bastards asking for trouble?!”

“We didn’t do anything…ugh!”

The mercenary standing at the back hurriedly tried to explain and clear up the misunderstanding, but before he could do so, he was grabbed by the collar and started receiving punches to the face.

Impressed by the fiery fight of the hot-tempered men, the remaining mercenaries attacked me.

The physical contact of the hot-headed friends was uncomfortable, so I pushed away the one who was charging at me from the front.

The mercenary who was pushed into me collided with the blacksmith who was in the middle of his meal.

“Damn it!”

The blacksmith, knocking down the long table with his fist, stood up from his seat.

Just by looking at his contorted face, it was evident that he was genuinely angry.

The sudden action of the blacksmith caught the attention of everyone inside the tavern.

Taking advantage of the situation, I threw an object at another guest to further fuel the fight.

“Are these bloodthirsty maniacs who haven’t even dried the blood on their heads?!”

“Kick their asses!”

“A fight? Count me in!”

Due to me, the inside of the tavern turned into chaos in an instant.

“There’s no such thing as making alcohol your enemy for no reason.”

I felt sorry for the owner, but I had no choice but to cause a commotion.

There was no way to sneak out of the tavern without causing a certain level of disturbance.

Ambiguous mischief always ends up catching up with you in the end.

“Shall we have a serious discussion among those who survived the chaos in the tavern?”

“Ugh! You’re not letting go of this?”

“Whoa, calm down. If you cooperate, I promise not to do anything drastic.”

Before leaving the tavern, I dragged out the toughest-looking mercenary, holding onto his hair.

There was no particular reason. I simply had some questions I wanted to ask him.

“You said you’ve never seen me around here, so you must be a guy who has been active in this place for a long time, right?”

“Hah! Do you think I’ll answer obediently?”

“Well, you know the answer to that.”

“Argh!”

Snap!

Without hesitation, I broke his ring finger and let go.

Once the questioning was done, there was no need to show any further consideration for others’ convenience.

Unless there is a continuous utility value like that of a merchant’s wife.

“If you’re not used to pain, it’s better to answer politely. I tend to be lenient towards those who are friendly.”

Even an unruly guy would become more composed in attitude when you break his finger, as if it had always been that way.

Especially when he shows no remorse whatsoever, the effect is even better.

“So, what’s your answer?”

“Well, yes! I’ve been living in this village for the past 3 years!”

“Oh, really? Then you must also know that there used to be a branch of Thongs Trading Company in this village?”

“Of course…!”

“But when I took a look around the village, the spot where the branch should have been was now a bakery? Do you know when this change happened, and if you know where the people from the branch went, would you tell me?”

The reason the branch of Thongs Trading Company came to this remote little village was obviously because of me.

It was a branch Maxwell had set up for me to call on him anytime in case of an emergency.

But the moment he decided to betray me, the value of the branch became worthless.

However, the branch here had a means of contacting Maxwell directly, so I would have asked him what to do.

If he was in a position where he had to take care of things, he would have told his employees where the meeting place was.

If I could somehow secure that information, it was almost as good as catching Maxwell.

“I don’t remember the exact details, but the day the branch’s building turned into a bakery was about a month ago from now.”

The withdrawal of Thongs Trading Company, which had a major presence in the village’s commercial district, was shocking at the time.

Neighboring merchants asked the employees of the branch, who had been like neighbors all this time, why they were withdrawing…

They said they heard nothing but that it was at the orders from above.

“After preparing for the withdrawal, which direction did they leave?”

“Thongs Trading Company loaded all their belongings onto wagons and headed south.”

“Of all places, the south…”

In the end, I didn’t get any satisfying information.

If they had gone east, at least I could have predicted their route, but the south had no answers at all.

In the Kingdom of Kinel, there were roads to any region you could go to.

Moreover, if they left last month, they would have left through the kingdom as soon as possible.

“If that’s all you know?”

“Oh! Looking back, there was one peculiar thing!”

“What is it?”

“The members of Thongs Trading Company didn’t leave right away, they received an invitation from the lord and left after spending a night there.”

“They stayed a night at the lord’s mansion before leaving?”

“Yes, I’m sure of it!”

“That’s a bit suspicious.”

Unless it was a noble, there was almost no reason for a lord to invite employees of a trading company.

Moreover, Thongs Trading Company was on the verge of breaking off due to business failure.

Even though there was nothing to gain from them, why would they be invited?

“I need to see the lord’s face.”

“Unfortunately, the lord has never invited mercenaries to his mansion.”

“Who would go to meet him officially then?”

“Well, how do you plan to meet him?”

“Obviously, through illegal entry.”

At that moment, I was dressed similar to assassins to hide my identity.

I planned to use any means of entry, whether it be through a window or a chimney.

“Since we’re talking about it, let’s go now.”

“What? Me, too?”

“Of course. I don’t know where the lord’s mansion is. And I’ve already shared my plan with you, do you think I’ll just let you go easily?”

“I’ll give you the map I have! And I promise not to disclose the information you mentioned to anyone!”

“Can’t trust anyone with words? Stop talking and follow me. At least I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt.”

“Ah, geez…”

The young mercenary who was clearly showing his displeasure.

As I approached him, he started to panic and make excuses.

Regardless, I twisted his ring finger back the way it was supposed to be.

“Aaah!”

“Don’t panic. I just put your misaligned bone back in place.”

I gave a sweet smile and patted his shoulder a few times.

No matter how much I think about it, my appearance just now seemed very dignified.

“Guide me.”

“Yes….”

I arrived at the noble’s mansion with my mercenary friends.

A grand mansion standing alone in the middle of a snowy field far from the village.

It was located in a position that seemed to avoid interaction with others like me.

“So this is the noble’s mansion I mentioned earlier.”

“…This situation is getting interesting.”

“Yes?”

“It’s nothing. But you should just go back to the village.”

“Yes? Is that really okay?”

This guy, is he hesitating to break the ice?

I thought about just taking him with me, but I decided to let him go.

I promised to make sure no harm comes to him, so it’s better to consider his mental state as well.

“Alright, you can go. But remember, don’t spread unnecessary rumors in the village, okay? Next time, it won’t be your finger, but your whole hand?”

“Yes, yes!”

After preventing a disaster, I looked back at the noble’s mansion.

The mansion was filled with the aura of a corpse that had already died but couldn’t accept its death.

***

Two horses galloping vigorously on the snowy field.

On top of them, Alaina with her shining platinum hair and Roland in black armor were riding towards their destination.

They skillfully rode their horses towards the dangerous mountain of Pernil.

In order to meet Lian, who was hiding there, they held the reins tightly.

“Alaina, it is likely that the hero has left for another place.”

“I was expecting that much. But if we can find evidence that Lian is still alive, we can narrow down our search range.”

“I apologize for bringing up unnecessary things. I am truly sorry.”

Just like Lian was chasing Maxwell’s trail, they were also trying to find Lian’s trail.

Alaina, who wanted to meet Lian as soon as possible and ask for forgiveness, ran blindly ahead.

On the other hand, Roland’s gaze was directed elsewhere.

“….Alaina.”

“Roland, we came to the north not to purify special things, but to welcome the hero. Can you distinguish between work and personal matters?”

“Yes, I understand….”

Although he verbally agreed, Roland’s gaze did not waver from where the aura of death was flowing.

Alaina, who knew the reason for his behavior, sighed deeply.

During Roland’s childhood, his hometown was attacked by an undead army led by necromancers.

It was a disaster that occurred in the dead of night when everyone was asleep, with screams and flames erupting throughout the village.

Fortunately, the disaster was quickly suppressed by priests from the Holy Kingdom who arrived just before the residents were slaughtered, and Roland was also saved.

However, Roland’s family had already been brutally eaten by the undead.

As a result of that incident, Roland grew up in the orphanage of the Holy Kingdom, nurturing a blind desire for revenge against the undead.

With that desire for revenge, he became a holy knight and gained Alaina’s trust.

‘Roland is great and all, but when it comes to undead-related matters, he loses his mind like this…’

His skills were on par with those of a knight commander.

However, the fact that he was a knight with a stronger belief in his own convictions than the will of the goddess was the decisive reason why he did not rise to the position of commander.

“You are as stubborn as ever. I give up, I will quickly clean up the undead and leave.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“Just make sure to clean them up quickly and efficiently.”

“Understood.”

Alaina and Roland turned their horses towards the direction of the grand mansion where the steady aura of death was flowing.

‘Once again, the moment of reunion is being postponed….’

Alaina had never expected to have a goal in mind for the mansion she was heading towards.