episode_0003

“Wow, finally!”

Jung Yushin, who had become a beggar, shouted in front of the village.

Tears welled up in his eyes when he thought about the hardships of the past three days.

The survival guide he learned from his father was of no help at all.

[Dad. Teach me how to make a fire.]

[Ah, you make a fire like this. Watch closely.]

His father raised his hand and roughly scraped the surface of the dry wood.

As the light flashed across the wood, smoke rose up. His father casually tossed in some straw, crossed his arms, and stood there for a moment, and as if waiting, a fire blazed up.

[Easy, right?]

“It’s not easy.”

There were many other macho-style survival guides, but none of them were helpful.

He climbed trees at night to sleep and kept walking in the morning. Fortunately, there were no monster attacks. Was it because there were many soldiers patrolling the road? I don’t know.

Jung Yushin swept back his greasy hair once and approached the village guard.

“Are you from Arentsville?”

The shaggy-haired guard asked.

“Yes.”

“Five fairy tales.”

“Here you are.”

Just as he was about to hand over the fairy tales and enter the village, the guard raised his hand to stop him.

“Did anything unusual happen on the way? I heard that slave hunters have been appearing around the road these days.”

The memory of when he first arrived in this other world flashed through his mind. Even if he said he had been transferred to another world, there was no guarantee that the guard would believe him, and he would have to recite a fabricated personal history, but since he didn’t know anything, his lies would be easily exposed.

Wouldn’t it be better to just deny that he met them?

“No. Nothing unusual happened.”

“Is that so? You seem to be carrying a pretty good sword, let’s take a look.”

Jung Yushin handed over his weapon.

The guard drew the sword and held it up to the sunlight.

“Most of the slave hunters come from the Western Empire. Do you know their hunting methods?”

“I don’t.”

A feeling that something was screwed up began to slowly rise. Should I have just told the truth?

The guard continued to examine the sword, saying.

“They don’t flock to hunting grounds. Ah! You know where the hunting grounds are, right? This is the Eastern Federation territory. They hide one by one like rats, pretending to be innocent, pretending not to know anything, pretending to be pilgrims, deceiving people and preparing to hunt.”

Jung Yushin was silent.

“It’s hard to tell who is a hunter when they gather individually, right? So they engrave a mark on one corner of the sword. A mark like this.”

The surface of the sword reflected the sunlight, blinding him, so he closed his eyes for a moment and opened them.

Thud.

A cold sensation touched his neck.

“Today is your lucky day. Come with me, you bug-like bastard.”

He was caught by the guard and taken into a building in the corner of the village square.

“Captain. I caught one.”

There were two people inside.

A middle-aged man looking at documents and a person wrapped in a gray robe all the way up.

At the guard’s words, the middle-aged man raised his head.

“Black hair. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Barbaroi. Judging by how weak he looks, he’s probably a mixed-blood. I heard most of the information from that person, so I don’t need much. Go to the nearby forest, interrogate him appropriately, and dispose of him.”

“No, wait a minute. It’s a misunderstanding. This is a misunderstanding!”

“In what part am I misunderstanding? Is it the part where you are a mixed-blood?”

“No, it’s the part where I’m a slave hunter.”

The middle-aged man stroked his chin for a moment.

“Cut open his stomach and kill him. As painfully as possible.”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute! I was also caught by slave hunters. That Karin, the red-haired wolf beastkin, saved me!”

The middle-aged man and the guard’s bodies stiffened.

“You…”

Did they finally recognize me? Did my sincere cry touch their hearts?

“A Barbaroi is crying. This…is really rare.”

The middle-aged man looked at Jung Yushin with surprised eyes.

Damn it.

“I’m not crying. My eyes are just a little wet because I’m frustrated.”

“That’s your luck. Send him off neatly. Tsk.”

“Captain. It seems like that person saved him, shouldn’t we check?”

At the guard’s words, Jung Yushin shouted with glee.

“That’s right! Let me meet Karin. She will confirm it right away.”

The middle-aged man sighed.

“Lady Karin is the daughter of the Beastkin Federation’s representative. You can’t meet someone like her just because you want to. And she left here quite a while ago. Let’s just go comfortably.”

“Is it okay to kill an innocent person like this?”

“It takes at least four soldiers to escort you. They’re all out on patrol duty on the road. There aren’t many people in the village. And does the cost come from the ground? No. Then does the paperwork related to this business trip get done by itself? No. How many people have to suffer because of you? Barbaroi, let’s go comfortably.”

The middle-aged man’s eyes turned red, as if he was excited while talking.

The guard scratched his head and looked at Jung Yushin.

“I think the Captain is right.”

“I’ll take him.”

The person wrapped in the gray robe said.

“Really?”

The middle-aged man was overjoyed.

“Yes. I have to see Lady Karin anyway. I’ll go and help the squad leader with his work.”

“Sir Seamus…”

The middle-aged squad leader couldn’t continue speaking, as if he was moved.

The person called Seamus pushed back his robe, revealing his appearance. A middle-aged human with some white hair mixed in.

He smiled when he made eye contact with Jung Yushin.

“Well, it’s been a while since I’ve traveled with a Barbaroi.”

“Thank you. I don’t know how to repay this kindness.”

The squad leader jumped up from his seat and bowed.

“It is a natural duty as a member of the Spirit Order.”

Seamus waved his hand to decline and continued speaking.

“Let’s leave right now.”

* * *

“Barbaroi. Don’t think nonsense.”

While Seamus went to pack his luggage, the squad leader grabbed Jung Yushin.

“I wasn’t thinking anything. But where are we going?”

“Lady Karin went to the Great Labyrinth, so you’ll have to go there too. It will take about a week to walk.”

“Is it okay to tell me this information so easily?”

At Jung Yushin’s question, the squad leader became angry.

“I didn’t tell you easily. And refrain from rude language in front of Sir Seamus. He is in a high position in the Spirit Order.”

“How high of a position is he in?”

“Find out yourself. Why should I tell you easily?”

“…”

Then Seamus, who had packed all his luggage, came in.

“Let’s depart.”

“Are we going right away like this?”

When Jung Yushin asked, Seamus shrugged his shoulders.

“Is there anything else you need?”

“Aren’t you going to tie my hands or anything like that? I might try to escape, you know?”

A burst of laughter erupted. The squad leader and the guard laughed heartily.

Seamus also had a subtle smile on his face.

“Barbaroi, try it if you want. It’s good to see you so confident.”

* * *

Seamus and Jung Yushin left the village immediately.

He was allowed to take the luggage in his bag as is, but his sword was confiscated. Although they didn’t tie his hands and feet, it seemed they didn’t want to let him carry a weapon.

Jung Yushin walked on the road. Seamus was walking while muttering as if he was meditating on something. Occasionally, he would take out a strangely shaped necklace from his chest and kiss it.

Seamus did not speak to Jung Yushin except when necessary. It was a far cry from the way he smiled and said it had been a while since he had traveled with a Barbaroi.

Jung Yushin had nothing to say either. So the two of them walked in silence.

In the morning, he would sneak a peek at the nameless wildflowers blooming next to the road.

At noon, he would sit in the shade of a giant ancient tree rooted next to the road and rest.

In the evening, he would stare blankly at the horizon of the wide-open prairie, and the setting sun beyond it.

The unusual silence-filled journey took a turn four days after leaving the village.

It was when they were building a campfire in a corner of an abandoned ruin in the evening highlands and chewing on jerky.

Seamus raised his head.

“It’s a monster.”

“Oh! What should I do?”

“There’s nothing to worry about. It’s just a few goblins.”

Seamus got up from his seat.

“Kikik.”

“Kueee.”

About thirty goblins approached the place where the campfire light reached.

Seamus smiled and got up from his seat.

“It seems the goblins are careless because there are two of us. They’re usually just guys who shoot arrows from the darkness. You stay still.”

“Kieeeek!!”

Dozens of goblins screamed and rushed in all at once.

Seamus threw off his gray robe, revealing a black priest’s robe. As Seamus clenched his fist and took a stance, an unusual aura swirled around his body.

Bbaaang!!

A popping sound came from the goblin’s stomach as it rushed from above, and a hole was pierced through it.

Jung Yushin’s eyes widened.

He missed the movement for a moment because the fist was so fast.

Moreover, the destructive power to make a large hole in the goblin’s stomach.

Jjeoeok!!

As the priest’s low kick struck the goblin’s shoulder like a whip, the goblin was slammed into the ground and crushed.

Ten goblins rushing in from the front paused. They seemed to have realized something, but it was already too late.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The goblins’ heads burst with every light jab the priest threw. The goblins screamed and tried to run back into the darkness.

“Stop.”

Seamus said in a calm voice. Then the goblins could not move their bodies and stood still in their places.

Jung Yushin realized that Seamus’s unusual aura that he had felt a little while ago was entangling the goblins.

Seamus raised his index finger and drew a line.

The heads of the frozen goblins were neatly cut off and dropped to the floor with a thud.

Jung Yushin’s mouth dropped open at the sight.

“Crazy.”

He realized it immediately.

The reason why they didn’t tie his hands and feet.

Seamus’s words to try to escape if he could.

It was meaningless to have handcuffs or anything else when he could easily take off the monster’s head like taking out a coin from his pocket.

The only reason he was alive was.

Because Seamus didn’t want his head.

“Ugh!”

His stomach churned at the sight of the tragedy and the smell of blood in front of him. He quickly brought the water bottle to his mouth.

Gulp, gulp.

“Hoo.”

“Barbaroi.”

At Seamus’s words, Jung Yushin quickly came to his senses.

“Yes, yes, sir.”

Seamus chuckled.

“I need to wash my hands, so pour some water for me.”

“Yes.”

Jung Yushin tilted his canteen and poured it on Seamus’s hands.

“Barbaroi. Are you trembling?”

It was true. His hands were shaking, so the canteen was shaking, and the stream of water coming out of the canteen was also shaking.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.”

“Yes. I’m sorry. I won’t be sorry.”

“Huh, a Barbaroi is trembling. I’m living to see the day. Go to sleep.”

Seamus shook off the water from his hands and returned to the campfire.

Jung Yushin trembled.

What the hell is a Barbaroi?

He staggered to the campfire and sat down. A fishy smell of blood was coming from the surroundings.

He remembered the day Karin left. The night he spent alone in the carriage smelling blood.

Shhh.

As a strange wind brushed past Jung Yushin, the smell of blood disappeared.

“It’s a wind spirit. I sent the smell of blood up, so get some sleep. We have to leave early tomorrow.”

“Don’t you want to move the campsite to another place?”

“No.”

“Yes.”

If I’m told to do it, I have to do it. He covered himself with a blanket and closed his eyes.

His heart was pounding at the terrible sight he had just seen.

‘Can I sleep?’