Chapter 34 : Pocket Watch
Chapter 34: Pocket Watch
“Captain, you’re safe!”
Seeing Calimacos’s face, Robin’s tension eased.
Palacio blinked, not understanding what had happened.
“There was clearly a warning written in the Demon Tribe’s script……”
“If demons wrote something, does that mean we must obey it no matter what.”
Calimacos spoke in a tone asking if that wasn’t obvious.
Palacio closed his mouth with a dazed expression.
“What about the others? Are they all safe?”
“They’re not.”
Calimacos’s expression remained calm as he said that.
The mismatch between his expression and words left Robin confused.
“You heard the gist from Palacio, right? We’re screwed.”
“Screwed? What do you mean.”
“It means we’re in big trouble.”
Calimacos’s explanation continued as expected.
The bandits had taken both merchants and mercenaries.
Robin’s expression darkened again.
“They put a sleeping drug in the stew, but something that weak doesn’t work on someone as super strong as me.”
“You’ll rescue them, right? You have a plan, don’t you?”
“Of course I’ll rescue them. I have a plan.”
He might have had a frivolous side, but he was still Calimacos.
His lack of seriousness was probably because he believed he could handle it.
Robin looked at Calimacos with hopeful eyes.
“I’ll go and smash them.”
“…That’s it?”
“Yeah.”
Robin calmly reviewed the situation.
Now that he looked closely, Calimacos didn’t seem normal either.
His clothes were disheveled, and the sword he always carried was nowhere to be seen.
There were smears of blood on various parts of his body.
Unable to listen anymore, Palacio stepped forward.
“Sir Calimacos, do you remember the stew you ate for dinner.”
“It was sour, unlike usual. It had a fishy smell too, but they said they added fish pickles, so I just ate it.”
A bolt of lightning struck Robin’s mind.
The sour taste was Pellipriel, which had sleep-inducing effects.
The fishy scent was Myuronicpa, an herb that caused hallucinations and delirium.
He couldn’t be certain, but both herbs were highly suspicious.
Both could be sourced easily in Butterhills.
‘Pellipriel is one thing, but Myuronicpa is dangerous.’
Myuronicpa was an herb used in surgery for its anesthetic effect.
But overdosing caused side effects.
Along with hallucinations, one’s self-control deteriorated.
Calimacos’s current state was exactly that.
His pupils were dilated, and his shirt buttons were undone as if he couldn’t stand the suffocating feeling.
Robin quickly pulled out the herb pouch from his backpack.
“Captain, please try this.”
“No.”
“Pardon? It’s good for your body.”
“I don’t like the musty smell. Don’t you have honey candy instead.”
Just as Calimacos said, the medicine Robin made didn’t smell pleasant at all.
“It’s not honey candy, but I do have honey.”
Robin mixed the honey Mirian had given him into the medicine.
One spoon of honey wasn’t enough—only after adding five did Calimacos open his mouth.
A ten-year-old feeding medicine into the mouth of a fully grown adult was a bizarre sight.
“Mm, tasty. Got more.”
“…Wait a moment.”
While waiting for the medicine to take effect, Robin examined Calimacos’s body.
Looking closely, the bloodstains weren’t from Calimacos’s own wounds.
‘Did he kill the bandits.’
The moment Robin tried to check his chest to see if he was injured—
A strong hand twisted Robin’s wrist.
“Aagh!”
“I’m fine.”
There was considerable force behind it.
Only when Robin winced did he finally let go.
He had squeezed so hard that finger marks remained on Robin’s wrist.
Calimacos fixed his clothes and spoke.
“Must’ve gotten excited because of the drug they fed me. I disgraced myself.”
“Is your mind clear now.”
“Yes.”
Palacio stepped in for Robin, who was clutching his wrist.
‘That wasn’t like the Captain just now.’
Calimacos inhaled deeply and exhaled.
His eyes had returned to normal.
Robin felt relieved.
“Could you tell us again what happened.”
“Everyone fell asleep after eating the stew. When I woke up, I was tangled up with an orc corpse inside a wagon.”
“That’s not pleasant at all.”
Palacio grimaced.
Calimacos nodded lightly and continued.
“When I got out, I was in that forest over there. The moment they saw me, the bandits attacked, so I punished them.”
Though Calimacos said he punished them, the meaning was obvious.
Palacio asked in a trembling voice.
“Then… our party was left behind in the forest.”
“No, at that time I was even less sane than now. I punished every one of them that came at me, so they ran away from each other. I chased them, and that’s when I ran into you two.”
They had roughly pieced together what had happened.
“What kind of mechanism is in that forest.”
“Yeah. Something must be there. There’s no way I’d lose them when we were less than ten meters apart.”
Both Robin and Calimacos turned their eyes toward Palacio.
Their looks asked if he had any guesses.
“I think it might be a barrier.”
“This is getting troublesome.”
Calimacos sighed and continued.
“From what I saw, it wasn’t the type you need a key for.”
“It’s likely a barrier with a set entrance path.”
Robin couldn’t follow the conversation between Calimacos and Palacio.
“Could you explain it so I can understand.”
“In short, we can’t get into the bandits’ hideout.”
The Demon Tribe had retreated from human lands, but their traces hadn’t disappeared.
Rarely, magic they had cast still lingered in some places.
A barrier was one such thing.
You needed to possess a certain object or know the exact ‘path’ to pass through.
According to Calimacos, the forest’s barrier was the type with a predetermined ‘path.’
“We can’t just sit and wait, so we need to try something. Palacio, go to Regiville immediately. Robin, you’re coming with me.”
“Traveling alone to Regiville at night is dan—”
Palacio couldn’t finish.
A sharp aura wrapped around him.
‘That’s killing intent.’
When Robin looked at Calimacos, his expressionless eyes gleamed chillingly.
“Go. Bring guards or knights.”
“Y-yes!”
Palacio fled immediately, pale with fear.
“Did you really need to go that far?”
“Palacio wouldn’t have entered the forest anyway. But leaving him alone here? In front of the bandits’ base? It’s better for him to move to Regiville.”
His logic was solid, so Robin had no choice but to agree.
He wondered if the killing intent meant his mind was unstable again, but it was just needless worry.
“Follow me, Robin.”
“Yes.”
“We’re at the entrance again.”
“Ughhh.”
Following Calimacos, Robin stepped out of the forest for the tenth time.
A path ran through the forest, likely because people traveled through it often.
And whenever they followed that path, the end result was always the same.
Anxiety lifted its head inside Robin’s heart.
‘Damn. This won’t do.’
He tried leaving marks on trees they’d passed, tried using a compass and the stars to set a direction.
All of it was useless.
“If it were the old days, I would’ve just bulldozed through everything.”
Calimacos was just as frustrated.
With irritation, he carved another line onto a tree at the entrance.
It was to record how many times they had gone in and out.
“Robin, let’s rest a little.”
“No. If something happens because we’re a moment too late……”
“It won’t.”
Calimacos masked his impatience and set a hand on Robin’s head.
“The bandits need them alive. If they didn’t, they would’ve killed them already.”
“Why would they need them alive.”
“They might sell them as slaves, or maybe use them to bargain.”
Calimacos took Robin with him and sat on a boulder.
‘Come to think of it, the Captain hasn’t rested even once since waking up.’
Robin lowered his backpack, took out water, and handed it to Calimacos.
Calimacos silently quenched his thirst.
‘Think. What can I do now? What do I have?’
He emptied his backpack, laying everything out.
He even removed the dagger he carried at his chest and the sword at his belt.
When he gathered all his belongings together, there were more than he expected.
He tried thinking of a way out of this situation, but nothing suitable came to mind.
‘What would Jeremy have done.’
He held Jeremy’s keepsakes—the locket and the pocket watch—in both hands.
The watch’s second hand was moving without a single error.
Robin stared blankly at the watch, and something caught his eye.
There was another hand besides the hour, minute, and second hands.
A golden hand that didn’t move even when Robin tilted the watch this way and that. Just like a compass.
‘Was it always like this? Why didn’t I notice before?’
Taking out his compass, he compared them, and the direction they pointed to was different.
The golden hand pointed toward the forest.
A theory flickered through Robin’s mind.
‘Jeremy always found the way straight to where we needed to go. If this watch is connected to that…?’
He shot up from his seat.
“Robin? What are you doing.”
“I might be able to find it.”
Stuffing his items back into the bag, Robin stood before the forest.
Calimacos looked puzzled.
Even inside the forest, the pocket watch’s hand didn’t waver.
That alone made it usable as a guide.
However, what awaited Robin and Calimacos again was the forest’s entrance.
“Still, this time we went deeper than before.”
Calimacos patted Robin’s shoulder.
‘Right. It’s better than before. Let’s try again.’
On the tenth attempt and beyond, the two gradually adapted to the forest.
Though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly when, Robin could feel something shift at a certain point.
“This is where the real problem starts.”
Calimacos drew another line on a tree.
It was a place they had come to countless times already.
A strange sensation brushed Robin’s whole body.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
The mercenary band, the merchant company, the wagons, the bandits.
What he was searching for was clear.
‘No. What I want right now is the path through this forest. I can save them only if we get through.’
A barrier that could be passed if one knew the ‘path.’
He focused solely on getting out of this place.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
The pocket watch sounded louder than usual.
Robin opened his eyes, and a smile appeared on his lips.
The golden hand’s direction had changed.
“From here on, I’ll take the lead.”
“You’ve been clinging to that watch since a while ago—does it really show the path or something.”
“I’m curious too.”
They had failed to break through the forest time and time again.
With no other method available, Calimacos followed Robin’s lead.
“If it feels dangerous, hide behind me.”
“Yes.”
The golden hand pointed diagonally left.
Looking closely, the hand tilted slightly downward.
Robin carefully stepped forward.
One step, two steps.
With each step he took, the hand shifted ever so slightly.
Crunch, crunch.
The sound of dry leaves underfoot tickled their ears.
Both of them instinctively understood—
They were walking the correct path.
‘Focus. Picture getting out of here.’
Robin kept his eyes on the ground as he walked, and soon the dirt trail ended and pebbles came into view.
He lifted his head—and the forest had ended.
Roooarrr.
Beside a small waterfall was a large cave.
They had passed the barrier.
“Hah… hah……”
Sweat-soaked, Robin stood in place, catching his breath.
His head buzzed, and he felt a bit dizzy.
“Amazing. That watch—was it an Artifact.”
“Probably? I didn’t know either.”
“Good work. Looks like it drains the user’s mental energy.”
Calimacos took water from Robin’s backpack and handed it to him.
Robin gulped it down, then looked at the pocket watch.
The golden hand had vanished entirely.
‘I’ll study the watch later… what now.’
The cave before him was clearly the bandits’ hideout.
Traces of human life lingered.
Light and voices leaked from within the cave.
The voices grew closer.
Calimacos grabbed Robin and hid behind a rock.
Soon, two men came out of the cave.
“This haul’s pretty good this time.”
“Good? It’s amazing. Just selling those mercenaries’ gear would let us live comfortably for a month.”
“They seemed decent fighters, but no luck. They ran into us, heh heh.”
Robin listened closely to their conversation.
“That red-haired woman was pretty tempting, though. Do we really have to offer her up.”
“No exceptions with tribute. But well, enjoying her first should be fine. The boss was already licking his lips anyway.”
One of the leering men licked his lips with his tongue.
“Heh, when she wakes up, we’ll have some fun.”
Robin’s clenched fists trembled.
He didn’t know what they intended, but the red-haired woman clearly meant Mirian.
He wanted to rush out and cut them down right now, but he held himself back.
Stepping out here would be what a beginner would do.
‘I have to follow the Captain for now.’
Steeling his mind, he glanced to the side—Calimacos was already standing.
“Captain?”
“Watch carefully, Robin.”
Without armor or weapons, Calimacos walked forward with steady, fearless steps.
“Hey, you ugly bastards.”
“What! Who the hell are you!”
“I want to ask something. The Blue Wing Mercenary Band—is that who you are.”
One bandit drew his sword upon seeing Calimacos.
Their expressions showed clear confusion at his sudden appearance.
“We’re the Blue Wing Mercenary Band. What about it?”
“Thanks for answering.”
Calimacos bent down and picked up a stone rolling on the ground.
He tossed it up and down, weighing it like a mischievous child.
Just as the bandits were about to shout—
Whooosh!
The stone struck one bandit square in the face.
With a burst of nosebleed, the bandit collapsed, and Calimacos smiled.
‘Is the Captain still under the drug’s influence?’
Robin watched Calimacos, harboring a doubtful thought.