episode_0016

Everyone who heard the shocking statement froze for a moment, but River did not stop speaking as if this was an opportunity.

It was obvious that if I gave them a chance to question me, my words would once again be drowned out by shouting.

“Most of the nobles gathered here to purchase slaves are threatening competitors of other imperial nobles!

Isn’t a slave rebellion a good excuse to eliminate rivals and place the blame on the slaves who rebelled?!

Of course, under the condition that it silences all potential witnesses!”

At those words, the commotion among all those present, regardless of race, began to grow louder.

In any case, it was a persuasive argument for both the other races and humans who keenly felt human greed.

Of course, the fact that it was persuasive did not mean that there would not be counterarguments.

“Wait! Then why are you here and not gone yet, human?! Do you have any proof that you’re not in the same league as the guys trying to burn this place down?”

One of the orcs who had hit Liber’s spear with the ax he was holding still asked sharply, as if he did not trust him.

“The answer to the first question is this.

Before I leave, if I don’t make sure I erase the fact that I was hired by one of the nobles or merchants who died here, assassins might come looking for me later. That’s why I stayed.

Then I just noticed that you were killing each other needlessly.

The answer to the second question is, rather than making a claim that cannot be proven, I would like to point out that there is nothing to lose by listening to me. It’s not like I’m telling you where to run.

I’m just saying that if you stay here for a long time, you won’t see any good things.”

Surely it would be much better for his words to be found to be false when he ran away than to remain and be found to be true.

“…Good. Human adventurer. For now, I’ll do as you say. But if this is some kind of trick, I’ll have to be prepared to have my ax stuck in my head one day.”

“Keep in mind.”

“Everyone, move! Let’s avoid the guards and leave this damn city as quickly as possible!”

As the orc, who lowered his axe, quickly fled the scene with his compatriots, Liber only then put aside the spear he had raised.

“I was fortunate to have a friend I could talk to.”

“Thank you…”

“It’s okay to say hello, so just leave quickly. If you go out and pretend not to notice and watch your mouth, they won’t try to kill all the slaves.

It may be a bit harsh to say it this way, but it is the property you are trying to take away from your competitors.”

As he skimmed through the thank-you notes from several human slaves who had saved his life, Liber tried to quickly leave the scene.

Until Emma, who had come closer, grabbed his clothes and stopped him.

“Ah… Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk to you earlier. Otherwise, persuasion would have taken much longer. Now-”

“Why did you save me earlier? Human?”

While the other centaurs were surprised to hear those words, Emma calmly looked straight into Liber’s eyes and asked.

“? what do you mean? You told me earlier. My employer is in competition with the slave trader who kidnapped you.”

If Emma’s question contained only suspicion and distrust, Liber would have calmly accepted it, just like the orc’s question earlier.

However, Libertarian was also taken aback for a moment because there were other emotions involved as well.

worry about him. No, more precisely, it was because there was definitely a mix of worry for him.

“Is your employer in on this mess too?”

“Huh? yes. But why-”

“Then it’s a competition and they’re both going to die anyway, so what’s the benefit of saving me?”

“…well… I don’t understand… is that important? For what reason did I save you?”

Although he was surprised by Emma’s more mature insight, Liber was still a little nervous, not understanding the intention of the question.

“It is important. At least when I help you.”

If the person in front of her helped Emma out of good intentions and not simply because he had something to gain, then Emma couldn’t help but repay him.

At least Emma herself found that reason.

“..Thank you so much for your words. The best way to help me now is to let me move quickly.”

“I looked in the direction you appeared. It was the exact opposite of the escape route. Haven’t you found that thing you said you had to erase before you left?”

“That’s right. So we have to go as quickly as possible. Now-”

“Then I will give you a ride there. Get in.”

This time, Liber had no choice but to say nothing and remain silent.

Whether it was back when Slave Maker was just a game or now that it has become a reality, Centaurs knew very well what it meant to carry someone on their back.

It was because I didn’t expect to be offered that much favor all of a sudden.

Moreover, wasn’t she, who was now in the form of a half-man and half-horse like in the original myth, a being who received Epona’s blessing and was envied by other centaurs?

Liber quickly looked around to see how the other centaurs would react to this sudden declaration…

To Liber’s surprise, the other centaurs seemed to nod their heads in agreement.

Even the centaur, who appears to have lost an arm to a human, was like that.

Epona’s teaching was to repay the favor received.

If that were the case, Liber had no reason or room to refuse the favor.

He quietly placed himself on Emma’s back.

“I’ll be back soon. Mother.”

“It will definitely be so because Epona will protect you.”

Liber, who realized a little too late that Emma and the one-armed centaur were very similar through that short conversation, soon felt the wind rushing to his face.

“Where should I go?!”

“Turn right from there!”

In his previous life, the only thing he had done was horseback riding, at most, as a tourist experience on a trip to Jeju Island, but after being reborn in this world, Liber also had the experience of riding a horse a few times.

It wasn’t at a level that I could say I was skilled at, but at least I could stand without falling off a running horse.

On the other hand, in the case of the Centaur, I have never ridden it in person before.

Since most centaurs are humans with the ears and tail of a horse rather than the half-man, half-horse figure in the original myth, it was embarrassing to take a piggybacking stance like that based on common sense from my past life…

Above all, it was impossible to do so comfortably right above the girls, who would have wanted to break the neck of the person they were forcibly climbing on.

‘Maybe that’s why most nobles who owned centaur slaves only used them to pull their own chariots.’

Just once, Liber also rode on a chariot pulled by two centaurs to protect the nobleman who had entrusted the request.

At that time, the glances they gave to the nobles and Liber on the chariot made him completely give up on buying centaur slaves.

More than just a sense of guilt, I felt that if they were ever to be released, one of them and I would have to die.

Moreover, it may be easier to ride on the back of a centaur, which is half-man and half-horse like in the original myth, but there are only a few of them and if she were forced to ride it, it was obvious that she would incur the resentment of the entire tribe to which she belonged, so she did not even think about it.

It may be true that there were many nobles willing to die on their behalf, but for Libertarian, the risk he had to take on his own was too great.

That’s why riding on Emma’s back at this moment was something that Liber had not expected for a moment.

This was even the case when he saved Emma and received her help in the confrontation with the orcs.

And as unexpected as it was, this whole experience was new to him.

As he develops his skills as an adventurer in this world, the scenery around him passes by at a speed that even he cannot handle, which is already beyond the capabilities of the human body.

If you miss that change even for a moment, you may become lost in the complex structure of the market, which is chaotic and even damaged, and become trapped among the approaching threats.

Nevertheless, River did not worry for a moment about getting lost.

Even while moving at a speed that made it feel like she was running along the ground, all of Emma’s movements were perfectly aligned with her rider.

At first, the only thing she asked him verbally was the direction, and after that, all of Emma’s detailed movements were made in silence, perfectly reading his every little gesture.

Because I was at that overwhelming speed, because I was in that perfect understanding.

Liber, who was now one with her and running faster than anyone else on this earth, and who should hurry with her more than anyone else, paradoxically, but also naturally, felt more comfortable and relaxed than anyone else right now.

And it wasn’t just Liber who was having an unexpected experience.

When Emma told the human who saved her that she would willingly give up her back as a centaur who followed Epona’s teachings, what she did was determination.

Ready to endure discomfort in order to repay your benefactor.

For Emma, the only experience she had with carrying someone and running was carrying other young children of the tribe, and even then, it was her first time carrying someone in the form of a half-man, half-horse.

I just took a deep breath, vaguely imagining what it would feel like, and was relieved to find that right after River got on top, it wasn’t as unpleasant as I thought.

However, while running for a short time afterwards, Emma was feeling a bit embarrassed.

The fact that riding with someone you trust on your back is more enjoyable than you think.

There was the confidence that the owner of the weight felt behind her back would protect her, and that she would face the approaching threat together, and there was a sense of comfort and leisure that that assurance brought.

Running together, and just feeling the wind brushing against her cheek, made her smile even amidst the ever-looming threats around her.

Now he and she just ran as one.

Of course, such enjoyment did not mean carelessness or distraction.

If that were the case, he wouldn’t have been able to so smoothly block a sword strike that suddenly appeared from a blind spot.

The moment River tilted his body slightly, Emma changed direction by twisting her lower body, and that rotation was carried by River’s spear again, deflecting the sword that the opponent struck with his whole body.

It was the result of a human and a centaur moving as if they were one body, only recognizing that the attack was coming before even confirming who the opponent was.

The identity of the enemy could only be confirmed when the opponent retreated and took a breath.

For Liber, it was nothing more than the sudden appearance of an incomprehensible enemy.

The silver medal hanging around his neck was a sign that he would be a formidable opponent even if he had injuries here and there.

But he soon read Emma’s trembling below and realized that what was happening was more than just an unfortunate encounter.

As for Emma, of course she remembered him.

My mother took the lead in fighting bravely against the humans who invaded the plains.

There was an adventurer who defeated such a mother by cutting off one of her arms with another silver-level adventurer, and eventually cut off the arm completely after capturing her.

He was in front of her now.

Still holding the sword that cut off her mother’s arm.