Ch.4916. Who Are You, Mister? (3)

“It’s dangerous.”

Though the boy, now more mature, objected again, Kariel’s resolve remained unchanged.

“There’s no one around here who can properly help us. So, I must visit the neighboring territory.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“…I must take that risk. What worries me most is the danger that might befall this place while I’m gone. That’s my greatest concern.”

“I will do my utmost to protect it.”

“…I can only hope it won’t come to that.”

Of the few horses the village once had, only one remained now.

Even this one was a precious creature, collectively maintained by the village.

Now you’re the only one left.

Until the moment he saddled the brown horse and mounted it,

the boy’s eyes were filled with anxiety.

“I will return. Whether with an antidote or a priest who can solve this.”

“…I suppose there’s no helping it.”

In the end, all the boy could do was pray for his safety.

…

There had been several crises.

He dealt with ambushing bandits, but after his horse died, he had no choice but to continue on foot.

The intensifying rain only added to his misfortune.

The mud sucked at his feet like a swamp, gripping his ankles.

Even after somehow overcoming this and pressing forward…

…not a single person welcomed Kariel.

Priests and clergy demanded money.

Some cursed him, calling it the devil’s work, divine punishment…

Accusing him of coming to spread the plague.

‘Why.’

Had rumors spread this far?

It was disheartening, but what would giving up accomplish?

He wandered through villages with nothing but the clothes on his back.

Though he quickly came to look like a beggar, he refused to give up.

With each passing day, more people died.

The suffering would only grow longer, and hope would gradually fade.

The number of patients would increase.

Since farming couldn’t be properly done, the practical matter of survival would soon become a crisis.

The village he had worked so hard to build… was collapsing.

The collapse itself might be bearable, but watching people’s homes, hopes, and will to live fade away…

…

“You’re working hard.”

When he collapsed somewhere in the forest, an old man clicked his tongue, prodding him with a wooden staff.

“What’s so desperate that you’ve been wandering these forest paths for days without rest?”

“…Has it really been that long?”

He hadn’t realized.

In the dark forest, he hadn’t even noticed the rising and setting of the sun.

“You should worry about yourself, why care for others? You could have died here.”

“I can’t die. I have responsibilities left unfulfilled; I can’t be so irresponsible.”

“Your will is strong. Unlike those who throw themselves into sacrifice thinking that alone will solve everything, you’re quite different.”

“…Elder?”

“Go straight that way and you’ll find some yellow mushrooms. Gather only the lighter-colored ones and take them with you. With those, you should be able to achieve what you desire.”

You’ve worked hard.

“Elder?!”

His body trembled.

Awakening from sleep, he headed as if entranced toward where the old man had pointed.

And indeed, there was a cluster of mushrooms.

“What is this…?”

Should he believe this dream?

It was just a dream, after all.

Nevertheless, unable to let go of even the slightest hope,

Kariel did as the old man instructed,

and then headed blindly toward where he felt the old man had last pointed.

—Aaaaargh!

A scream echoed from afar.

He dragged his exhausted body quickly toward the sound.

Between desolate valleys,

he witnessed some troops fighting against monstrous beings with hard, branch-like skin.

The humans were clearly at a disadvantage.

Without time to think, he rushed into the fray.

…

“To be saved twice must surely be fate.”

His ragged and miserable appearance was gone.

Though accumulated fatigue still clung to his face, just by washing and donning new clothes,

Kariel’s impression had completely changed.

Moreover,

the young man with golden hair showed an unusual level of respect for Kariel.

“Twice, you say?”

The young man had prematurely become the lord of this region.

And once,

he had faced Kariel’s own lord in a life-or-death confrontation.

He was the lord of that very territory.

“When they tried to invade a village before, didn’t you stop them?”

I was there at that time.

“……”

“Though I was a child abandoned by my father, had I been captured, I would have been killed or used in some way.”

But strangely enough,

his father fell from his horse and died.

His brothers also lost their lives one after another to disease or on the battlefield.

…Somehow, he was the only legitimate heir left.

After all, he too was a proper successor, born of the legal wife.

“My father was greedy. He dreamed of becoming king himself, taking advantage of this time when the Kingdom of Berk was unstable.”

However, kingship wasn’t a position one could attain merely by wanting it.

Moreover, he neither had the talent to lead armies nor possessed overwhelming power to single-handedly slay enemies.

“I’ve now managed to join the alliance by connecting with the Enzul family, who have begun leading the Berk family, offering them part of my territory.”

“By Enzul, you mean…”

“Yes. The five holy swordsmen led by the great warrior Iland, who have made their name known throughout Berk. And soon, they say the Pope will consecrate the head of the Enzul family. The royal family of Berk has… fallen, but he will likely succeed to the throne.”

Was it that serious?

There’s a clear distance between the northern Kingdom of Berk and the southern region here.

Of course, it’s only a few days’ ride on horseback, but with a mountain range in between and lakes and swamps in the way, while individuals or small merchant groups can travel without major issues, moving an army would certainly cause problems.

“I see.”

They seem to be changing the world.

Unlike himself.

“But doesn’t the southern part of Berk have Lord Kariel?”

“…You mean me?”

“I once witnessed Lord Iland in person and saw his divine status with my own eyes.”

However,

“I couldn’t say with confidence which of you two, Lord Kariel or him, was superior.”

“That’s…”

It’s absurd.

How could he, who had rampaged ignorantly in some southern region,

be compared to the warrior of the century who had swept through countless battlefields and dominated the world?

“…Southern warriors have developed strength from facing barbarians. That confidence gave my father the vain dream that he could wear a crown.”

There were countless renowned warriors, but…

“Lord Kariel, we trembled at how you cut down more than half of them.”

What’s so impressive about a warrior from some small lordship?

If only that man had been my subordinate!

Why didn’t heaven grant me such a subordinate!

“My father’s lamentations were tremendous even then.”

The young man said,

“Do you know? Even your master feared you.”

“……”

Kariel pondered.

The reason his lord had sent him away completely.

The reason he hadn’t taken any further action against the village afterward.

And the times when they stood shoulder to shoulder.

…Even when they finally confronted each other,

unlike with other subordinates, he couldn’t treat Kariel forcefully.

He only pretended to.

…It wasn’t that he didn’t know this, but

he thought it was because his lord respected him.

That they understood each other’s feelings and relied on each other.

…But seen from the outside, is this how it appeared?

And perhaps, that might be right, so

Kariel felt inwardly conflicted.

“I understand your urgency to leave. But I fear an accident might happen if you ride in the dark.”

“…Are you offering me a horse?”

“You saved my life. And that’s not all. I won’t spare any support I can give you. Not just now, but in the future as well.”

I’ve heard your story.

“What you described as knighthood differs from a warrior’s mindset and the oaths they make, but I find myself drawn more to that.”

Please.

“I sincerely pray that whatever you’re doing goes well, without any problems.”

Until then,

Kariel was relieved, thinking everything was going well.

Then fatigue washed over him like melting snow.

Truly, after more than ten days, he could finally sleep peacefully.

…

“They say barbarian armies are sweeping through the entire Baronens territory.”

The next day,

until he heard that news,

Kariel

was truly grateful that everything had gone well.

He rode one horse until it foamed at the mouth.

Considering this, he was grateful to the young lord who had even provided a spare horse.

When the second horse also foamed at the mouth, he began to run.

Running was familiar to him.

From a very young age, the boy had run to build stamina and train his body as the knight instructed.

Running mountain paths, climbing uphill, descending downhill,

and sprinting across flat ground as if flying.

In the end, my past self has brought me to this place now.

If he hadn’t been accustomed to running,

he would have had to wait patiently for the horse to recover.

Because that would be the right thing to do.

So, the reason he could exclude that option and run

if there was a possibility worth betting on…

…this too was the product of the effort he had built up in the past.

Although his body had aged and he no longer trained as desperately as before,

he had never stopped.

It wasn’t simply to teach the children.

Perhaps he had immersed himself in training to escape reality for a while.

Whenever his body rested, all sorts of despair, negative emotions, and thoughts would flood in like nightmares.

The day was fading.

Still, he didn’t stop.

Though his breathing was precarious, as if about to extinguish.

It’s fine.

This is familiar.

Compared to being harassed by enemies for four days on the battlefield without a wink of sleep, this is nothing.

It’s trivial.

No one is even trying to take his life.

To say this is difficult?

That can’t be.

It’s nonsense.

Even as his entire body was drenched in sweat,

even as his consciousness grew dim,

he fiercely gathered his wits.

Making his breathing more stable.

Struggling to move his hands and feet, body, and head, which had become as heavy as iron.

He moves.

He runs.

While it’s impossible to ensure his physical condition doesn’t deteriorate, he manages it so that he will never helplessly collapse.

He’s desperate, but he can’t be desperate.

What if enemies attack the moment he arrives?

Will he just stand and watch?

Will he throw himself at them to die in vain?

Neither is acceptable.

Think, even if it’s hard.

Prepare for the worst.

All sorts of negative emotions tried to hold his ankles,

but he shook them off.

And so, by the time the sun rose again,

he finally began to see it.

…Fortunately,

the village didn’t seem to be burning or collapsing yet.

Seeing it from afar, he still couldn’t be sure.

Perhaps he had just been hasty.

…If that were truly the case, wouldn’t that be something to be grateful for?

Suppressing his anxious heart, he somehow reached the village.

“Lord Kariel?!”

People with modest armaments, their faces full of anxiety and fear,

greeted him.

But then,

“Where is Ruel?”

At Kariel’s question,

one of the young men looked at him with an uneasy expression.

No, not just him, but everyone did.

“Don’t tell me…?”

“He’s… fallen ill. His condition is… not good.”

“……”

For a moment, everything went dark before his eyes,

but Kariel repeatedly gathered his wits.

“Take this.”

The young man who received the pouch from him asked with confusion.

“What is… this?”

“It’s not much, but grind it moderately and feed it to them. To all the sick. And… tell them that support will come soon, so hold onto hope.”

“Did, did you hear that news too? That barbarians are leading an army around here…?”

“Yes.”

That’s why I rushed here like this.

“Look, over there!”

In the plains far from the village,

outlaws appeared in a line like the horizon.

“……”

Though he had caught his breath for a moment,

his physical condition was currently at its worst.

For more than ten days, he had wandered foreign lands in rain and wind.

He had barely caught his breath through what seemed like a miraculous opportunity.

Yet he had pushed himself again to reach this place now.

So, he was grateful.

…At least he could somehow stand against the terrible situation where things happened in his absence, as they had before.

He couldn’t make up for what had already happened.

But if it hadn’t happened yet…

“We requested help from the lord, but… he wouldn’t even meet with us.”

“…It’s alright.”

Kariel calmly absorbed their anxiety.

“I’m here now. Don’t worry.”

After instructing them to look after the sick and the remaining people,

Kariel examined the shabby village signpost,

and then walked toward the group watching this place.

Long ago, he had discarded anything unnecessary to reduce weight while running.

So,

all he had were clothes soaked in sweat and dirtied from stumbling and falling.

Still, I have two swords left.

One sword he had dedicated to the village,

but the remaining one, he couldn’t give up to the end, to protect the village.

Even that, he eventually sold at a pittance to buy medicine for the villagers, soothing his bitter heart.

…But,

for some reason, he had received a better sword as a gift from someone who was once his enemy.

In the end, nothing remained in his hands.

But all of these were just tools, means to an end.

Even the precious sword he had received from his master long ago,

hadn’t he lost it wandering some battlefield?

So,

All I have left now

is just this one body.

“I beg you.”

God.

If you truly exist.

If by chance you are watching this place now.

“Be satisfied with just me.”

Then gladly,

without a single regret,

with a grateful heart,

I will crawl into that fiery pit with this body.