Ch. 29 - That Friend
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"After such a long and exhausting journey, the young master needs rest!"
As Lord Merle's most loyal and trusted steward, and the chief commander of this merchant convoy, Huss had a duty to care for the young master and ensure he enjoyed this trip comfortably.
But Explosivewolf wasn't willing to play house with nobles:
"Of course, when you're all dead, you can rest for the rest of your lives."
Offended, Huss furrowed his brow:
"Mercenary, we are your employers!"
"Which is exactly why people went missing from *my* team, not yours!"
Explosivewolf grabbed Huss by the collar, nearly spitting in the man's respectable face.
"Listen here—we take money to get things done, so if someone gets lost or dies, that's just their bad luck. But if we know there's danger ahead and still dawdle along, that's actively throwing our lives away. I won't be buried alongside you idiots for your stupidity!"
So it really was some accident that forced the merchant convoy to speed up their schedule, causing the plan to be exposed...
Tang Qi couldn't demand that Lady Luck always smile upon him.
All he could consider was: now that things had come to this, how should he adapt?
"Anger is a deadly blade,
Always digging conflicts deeper made;
Refuse the pointless bickering parade,
We need the antidote that reason has conveyed."
Tang Qi's song interjected between their argument, like water suddenly splashed on a brazier.
They both fell silent, turning together toward the source of the song.
Tang Qi shook his shackled hands at them:
"My apologies, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just have one small request—while you're arguing, could you allow me to retrieve my pack?"
He hadn't used Friendship yet, so they wouldn’t realize he also possessed spellcasting abilities and beat him for it afterward.
But once he confirmed they had no such intention, he would use it on Melade, the one who actually called the shots—
That pack still contained the journal, and he couldn't abandon it no matter what.
But before the two interrupted men could lose their tempers, Melade looked at him with surprise:
"Damn scoundrel, you're actually a bard?"
"It's such a pity my hands are bound, otherwise I would play a special verse for Your Excellency's mercy."
"Why would a poet help mercenaries conceal the theft from Starberry?"
"That's a long story..."
Tang Qi glanced at Black Snake beside him.
Black Snake had an inexplicably bad feeling.
Tang Qi's singing voice took on a slightly choked quality:
"The derelict villain seized an innocent maiden,
To push her toward a slanderous gallows laden;
The kind-hearted poet wished to save her then,
The villain said: 'Fine, if you can't find the truth, I'll slaughter you when—'
The poet trapped on this pirate ship could only curse within,
Forced to devise a scheme to deceive the lord therein!"
Black Snake's mouth twitched.
Though something felt off about this.
In the actual truth, for things to have reached this point, this poet was definitely not innocent.
But thinking it over again—wasn't this fucking accurate?
"Merciful lord, I don't dare hope you'll forgive my transgressions, since deceiving you is an undeniable fact. But please allow me to retrieve my belongings—my precious journal is still in there."
In truth, Tang Qi didn't even want these people to send him away.
He'd originally wanted to leave with the merchant convoy anyway. Right now, only the process had gone wrong, not the result.
Since the forest was becoming increasingly strange, sticking close to the mercenaries and merchant convoy was definitely the safest approach.
Seeing how sensible this poet was, Melade didn't mind displaying his magnanimity—his household frequently hired musicians, but rarely encountered anyone as interesting as Tang Qi:
"Where is your pack?"
"This gentleman is staying at my tavern, I'll fetch it for him." Catherine volunteered.
Melade waved his hand, signaling her to hurry back:
"Mr. Nova, please cast protective spells on Starberry. In thirty minutes, we depart immediately."
The employer had spoken with finality, which also appeased the anxious Explosivewolf.
Under the shoving of several merchant guards, Tang Qi was pushed onto a cargo wagon together with Black Snake.
---
Besides being piled with various miscellaneous items, the wagon also held a kobold who had been knocked unconscious after howling and screaming too much from excessive grief—he’d simply become too annoying.
Their hands and feet were all firmly locked, eliminating any desire to escape.
Unable to just sit idle, Tang Qi surveyed his surroundings and asked quietly:
"Where's Stonecrusher?"
"I told him to hide—one person bearing the blame for negligent supervision is enough."
"I'm curious, has Jackal ever seen this righteous side of you?"
"I never let my subordinates take the fall, Jackal included. Too bad he died by your hand."
Tang Qi blinked:
"Can slander get you convicted in Longgold City?"
"Is there still a need to act at this point, poet? I confirmed it last night—there weren't any traces of acid corrosion on Jackal's chainmail at all. This means he took off his chainmail first before fighting the Ochre Jelly—how stupid would he have to be?"
Tang Qi sighed, since being exposed through this kind of oversight basically counted as force majeure.
"No choice—I couldn't even move his corpse without removing his chainmail."
"He was someone who could get things done, his only shortcoming was lacking some experience."
"Not even recognizing a kobold counts as 'some'? That was enough to cost him his life."
Black Snake leaned against the pile of miscellaneous items, casting an appraising glance at Tang Qi:
"Do you have some misunderstanding about mercenaries? A mercenary's job is to guard and fight in wars, not explore the world—that's what adventurers do."
"So you and Stonecrusher are adventurers?"
He didn't answer that question.
But that in itself was an answer.
"You couldn't be staying in Starberry Town just to retire, right? Stonecrusher still seems pretty motivated."
Seeing Black Snake give no response, Tang Qi couldn't help turning back to look, only to discover he'd already fallen asleep alongside Kuru.
So relaxed, completely lacking any self-awareness of being a prisoner.
But what was most curious was that both he and Stonecrusher clearly possessed considerable skills—even if they couldn't match the mercenaries present, escaping into the forest wouldn't be difficult.
They were just mercenaries. Having lost their reputation in Longgold City, what would it matter to change cities?
Perhaps he understood Longgold City's laws well and knew his crimes wouldn't endanger his life?
Or perhaps they had some reason they absolutely had to stay here?
"Adventurers, ruins..."
"Tang Qi-gege!"
While pondering, Tang Qi saw a girl's figure running along the dirt road through the wheat fields.
Thanks to the curse of beastification, she was naturally stronger and more agile than others, which allowed her to undertake this errand.
Now carrying Tang Qi's worn pack, she tried to cross the wheat field and push through the crowd.
"Who goes there!?"
Steward Huss quickly summoned several mercenaries to block her path.
Anbi remembered her sister's instructions and hurriedly removed the pack:
"I'm here to deliver something."
Huss snatched the pack and opened it to look. Besides a thick, plain journal, the pack also contained a large cloth bundle and three water skins, making it quite heavy.
The journal had nothing on it. The cloth bundle held many hard black rye bread loaves, and the water skins contained berry wine unique to the Golden Oak.
At least it saved them the trouble of feeding these 'prisoners.'
Huss snorted coldly, unwilling to let the shabby aura emanating from the pack defile his fingers. He tossed it dismissively into a wagon—
Anbi then called out:
"Sister also asked me to give you a message. She said, we can't just look at appearances, can we? Young Master Melade is that friend she mentioned!"
Tang Qi blinked.
Then he recalled the conversation between the two of them earlier that morning.
His gaze toward Melade also became meaningful.