Chapter 143

Chapter 143

Episode 143: A New Beginning The knight named Darzhen and Kastuf’s man were conversing in hushed tones, but El and I could hear every word they exchanged. After listening to the entire series of conversations, the emotion I felt was emptiness. I had made such a fuss about leaving Karaldin, but the other party had no intention of capturing us. It was only natural to feel drained. And before I could even sort out that feeling of emptiness, a soldier in armor approached us and handed over a piece of paper. Not to me, but to El. “Our knight asked me to deliver this.” “…Thank you.” El, too, seemed to feel a dazed emotion after hearing their conversation, wearing a rather strange expression. With a look of exhaustion, she accepted the paper from the soldier and expressed her gratitude. “What’s going on?” Emily was the only one among us who was still unaware of the situation. Unlike El, who had mastered Qi Gong, and me, who had experienced Rebirth, her hearing wasn’t good enough to hear the conversation that took place a little further away. “Let’s check this first, and then I’ll tell you.” El sighed softly and unfolded the paper. Then, Emily and I leaned in a little closer to read the sentences written on it. [To the esteemed Ms. Natalia. I hope your journey from Mesatria to Karaldin was pleasant. It will help you in your future journey. I do not know where you are headed, but I wish you the blessing of the Goddess on your way. Although it was a brief encounter, I feel infinite regret that I can no longer see your charming red eyes. But where there is meeting, there is parting. Please cherish this farewell. And I hope you will not let others hear your beautiful voice carelessly. Ah, and it seems that being an adventurer does not suit you. I am concerned that a beautiful flower might wither in the bloody storm. I may not have another chance to see you again, but I hope to live under the same sky. ] After reading it, Emily tilted her head and opened her mouth. “Wow, you’re popular. You’re even getting letters like this.” Of course, Emily was the only one among us who thought that way. El, after reading the letter addressed to her, opened her mouth with a dubious expression. “…Really? It looks to me like they’re saying they’ll spare me, so shut my mouth about this and don’t even think about coming near the East again. I’m not overinterpreting this, am I?” “Probably not. That’s how I see it too. Still, it seems like they’re saying you can go anywhere except near the Great Forest, right?” In short, they were saying that they knew what we had done, but they would let us off this once, so get out of this land. As we were already leaving the East, this was a fortunate turn of events. Still, our doubts weren’t completely gone. No matter what kind of background they had, considering what we had done in Mesatria, they could have killed us as an example or to vent their anger. So, why wouldn’t they kill us? As I glanced at the knight named Darzhen with a questioning gaze, he gave a small smile and winked. At that nonchalant gesture, I sighed inwardly and gave up trying to deduce the reason. // Kastuf stared at the three women leaving with a sense of emptiness. If he could, he wanted to hold them back, but he didn’t have the power to do so. He wasn’t skilled in martial arts, and the knights and soldiers who were skilled in martial arts weren’t on his side.

-Thud.

As he watched the closing door of the inn, he thought blankly to himself. Would his predecessor, Lord Etechaf, have been able to capture them in this situation? Probably not. He ended up dying, after all. “Too bad. They were charming women, but there’s no chance of meeting them again, is there?” “….” Darzhen didn’t seem to want to stop him from imposing private sanctions, but he certainly didn’t seem to want to take them into custody either. Hearing his mutterings, Kastuf tried to pull himself together and asked again. “Why aren’t you capturing them?” “Oh, I think I told you the reason earlier.” Darzhen tilted his head and answered, then picked up a piece of bread from the table. But Kastuf didn’t accept his answer. “No, you didn’t. What you said was only assuming that you couldn’t find them. My proposal and the Lord’s alternative can be achieved simultaneously. If you capture them and hand them over to me, the Lord won’t lose anything, will he?” If he took them to the West, the possibility of them blabbing their mouths would disappear, which would solve the problem. Moreover, he could receive separate compensation from the Gardisha County. Yet, it was strange that they were letting them go simply because they didn’t need them. “…Conversely, it means there’s no need to do so.” It was an absurd answer, but Darzhen’s expression as he said that seemed quite serious. Seeing that expression, Kastuf’s eyes widened as if he had realized something. The authority to command the accompanying soldiers and knights rested with Darzhen, not Kastuf. That meant that even if the Lord had ordered him to capture the criminals, he could disobey the order if he showed some leniency on the spot. Of course, Lord Noitrem wouldn’t have ordered him to capture them. And he wouldn’t have ordered him not to capture them either. “Ah, by the way, in my opinion, that woman doesn’t look much like the portrait. I don’t want to capture the wrong adventurer. It would be troublesome for me if something went wrong.” Darzhen’s words that they were charming women must have been sincere. Whether it was because of their appearance or the exhilaration of seeing them put down the Dragoons. At his words, Kastuf felt his vision darken. Even if he returned to Gardisha County as it was, there wouldn’t be a good outcome waiting for him, and he couldn’t figure out how to resolve this situation. “…The bread doesn’t taste very good. But let’s eat quickly. I’ll guide you to Mesatria.” At Darzhen’s voice ringing in his ears, Kastuf reflexively reached out and picked up a piece of bread from the table. …Indeed, the bread tasted terribly bad. // After receiving that letter, we weren’t stopped in any way while leaving Larkard after finishing our meal. Not only that, but there were no pursuers that we had feared while traveling to the next town. Wyverns occasionally flew in the sky, but they were just scouting wyverns, not those chasing us. “…If what that person said is true, what happens if we secretly go back later?” Emily pondered for a while before asking the question, but I didn’t know the answer to that either. I could change my appearance at any time and naturally return to Karaldin, but what about El? I was curious, but I didn’t think there was a need to test it. And El didn’t seem to be thinking deeply about it either. “Hmph. Oh well, I don’t care. Luthion said he’d come later anyway.” “Luthion, your boyfriend?” “N-No, it’s not like that! We were trustworthy friends…!” When I asked casually, El blushed and shouted as if she was flustered. But since we spent a night in the same bed, it wouldn’t be right to call him a friend. “Really? Then you’re just having fun together.” “Huh?” When I replied playfully, El’s expression turned blank. After that, her expression became a little serious, as if she was seriously reflecting on my words. “N-No, that can’t be. But…i-if that’s really the case….” I left El, who was lost in her own world, and turned my gaze to Emily. In a way, she could be said to be the biggest victim of this incident. She had to leave the Adventurer’s Guild where she was working properly, and as she moved away from the Mesheen Great Forest, the journey itself took on a different form from the adventure she had wanted. “The Territory of Count Taibon is in the northeast of the kingdom. I heard it’s quite far from the Mesheen Great Forest. Maybe fighting monsters like before will be a thing of the past.” Feeling sorry, I said that to Emily, and Emily nodded. “Yeah, I think so.” That was all she said in response. She didn’t look disappointed at all, and there was no sign of regret. “Are you okay?” “Huh? About what?” “The adventure you wanted might be a little different, are you okay with that?” When I asked her about it, Emily smiled and nodded as if she didn’t care at all. “It’s okay. Working at the Adventurer’s Guild was fun too. And I like traveling like this too.” It wasn’t just words to reassure me, she seemed to be genuinely enjoying it. We didn’t have to worry about the existence of pursuers anymore. We walked along the main road and reviewed our plans. “I’ll tell you the plan simply. First, we’ll go to the Territory of Baron Lanche to meet Kim Aram, and then head to the Territory of Count Taibon.” The place we were heading to now was the Territory of Baron Lanche, but in the end, it was land belonging to the County. Considering the system of the Kingdom of Kilkard, Baron Lanche could be seen as a kind of vassal who was delegated authority by Count Taibon to rule the territory. Regardless of the height of the title, even a noble couldn’t be said to have much power unless they were a territorial noble with their own land. Even a duke without land was worse than a count, and even a baron could live well if he had land. Of course, in reality, there were few such cases, and the higher the title, the more land they had, but it was hard to imagine that Kim Aram would belong to such a small number of cases. Like El in the past, she might be a noble in name only, but in reality, she was no different from a slightly wealthy commoner. …If so, it would probably be difficult to be indebted to her territory. We should stop by and meet her briefly, then go to the city in the Territory of Count Taibon and find something we can do. We had received enough money from Quirkzhev when we left Karaldin, but considering our future lives, we couldn’t just play around and eat. Having to work to live was the same in that world and this world. “…I can’t be an adventurer.” When El said that after checking the map, I nodded. “Still, the Territory of Count Taibon is the largest iron ore producer in the eastern region. If we just go there, we can do anything.” The fact that there were underground resources like iron ore meant that money was gathered. And where money gathers, people gather as well. Even if there was no opportunity to use martial arts, it wouldn’t be difficult to find a job in some way. A week passed since we left Larkard like that, And we were able to arrive at our destination, the Territory of Baron Lanche.