Chapter 39 : Were You a Noble?
Chapter 39: Were You a Noble?
As he swallowed the water brewed with herbs, Paul stayed wide awake through the night.
He hadn’t expected much effect, but it helped more than he had thought.
After he pressed the herbs Robin had given him onto his wound, the bleeding had already stopped before he knew it.
He quietly got up and tried moving.
There was no problem walking around.
“This could be sold as a substitute for a lowest-grade potion at this point.”
Step, step.
While he was marveling at the effect of the herbs, footsteps came from the cave.
It was Calimacos and Robin.
Both were drenched in blood, so he had a rough idea of what might have happened.
“Looks like you went big. Even with Robin there, did you put on a slaughter show or something?”
“There were just too many of those bastards. And their boss was a Demon Tribe worshiper.”
Strength returned to Paul’s eyes.
Demon Tribe worship.
It was an act strictly forbidden in the Empire.
One could gain strength in a short time, but it corrupted humans.
The Demon Tribe were enemies of humankind.
Still, he didn’t think Calimacos was going to die.
Just by looking, Calimacos’ wounds were minor.
Robin’s condition, however, was not good.
“Let’s treat Robin first.”
After Paul laid Robin down, he examined his body.
His right arm was swollen as if the bone had broken, and his whole body was covered with bruises and cuts.
It was a wonder he had been able to walk at all in that condition.
“There should be spare herbs in my backpack. Please take them out.”
Following Robin’s words, Paul rummaged through the backpack.
First-aid was done, but it wasn’t proper treatment.
These were injuries that required a cleric’s healing or a potion.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not. Left like this, you might end up crippled.”
Paul and Calimacos both darkened.
It wasn’t rare for mercenaries to lose limbs after intense battles.
It was uncommon for a promising child to become crippled, though.
“Hoo… was that Demon Tribe worshiper strong?”
“No. He was an idiot who didn’t know anything.”
Paul looked at Calimacos as if urging him to continue.
Calimacos hesitated, then spoke the truth.
“I used too much killing intent. I lost my mind for a bit. I should’ve taken Robin out right away… it’s my fault.”
“So that’s what it was. You’re lucky you didn’t turn into a lunatic.”
Robin had been badly injured when Calimacos fell into a trap, but Calimacos still felt guilty.
That was the kind of person Calimacos was.
Someone who felt responsible for protecting the weak.
Robin waved his hands and spoke.
“It’s not the captain’s fault. I rushed in recklessly and only got in the way.”
“Let’s stop talking about that. Calimacos, there must be a reason you came out of the cave even though you look fine?”
Calimacos nodded.
Paul held out his hand to Calimacos.
He was asking for the sword.
“I’ll go check whether the others are safe. That was the goal from the start anyway.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Calimacos didn’t mention that he felt his mania might flare up again.
Paul didn’t dig deeper either.
“Paul, are you really okay? Your body isn’t in great shape either.”
“The herbs you gave me worked wonders. And if that bastard Calimacos went berserk, there shouldn’t be any enemies left inside, so I’ll be fine.”
Robin agreed with Paul.
Calimacos’ maddened massacre was still burned into his mind.
Honestly, he still worried Calimacos might lose his sanity again.
Paul strapped on the sword Calimacos handed over and entered the cave.
“Robin, get some sleep until Paul comes out.”
“I’m not in the mood to sleep.”
“Then I’ll sleep, so wake me if anything happens.”
Calimacos flopped down and fell asleep.
He didn’t care that he was unwashed and covered in blood.
Seeing that carefree appearance, Robin felt relieved.
He had returned to the Calimacos he knew.
Passing through the blood-stained cavern, Paul frowned.
Judging from the numerous bandit corpses lying around, the situation had been more urgent than he expected.
“If I’d stayed with them, I might have been cut down too.”
He shuddered as he looked at Tupi’s mutilated body.
Since they had dragged Tupi out from the prison as an example, finding the path wasn’t difficult.
It was also why he hadn’t been too worried when he followed Robin out.
Their companions had been fine and with him.
Before long, Paul stood before the prison and tilted his head.
The wooden bars had been smashed.
Fortunately, the companions were safe.
Torgen, Mirian, Brandok, and Felix were all asleep.
“I have no idea what happened. Anyway, how am I supposed to move these guys?”
As he wondered whether he should carry them out one by one, he heard someone stir.
Brandok had woken as if just roused from sleep.
“Looks like the effect of the sleeping herb wore off. Good to see you awake, Brandok.”
Paul explained the entire situation for the confused Brandok.
Brandok listened to the end, then held out both hands toward Paul.
Wooden handcuffs were still clasped around them.
Paul smashed the cuffs with the hilt of his sword.
Brandok thanked him, then stepped out of the prison and spoke.
“How about we look around more inside? Weren’t there merchants besides us?”
“But Robin’s condition isn’t good. We need to treat him as soon as possible.”
“If we search deeper inside, we might find a cart. It’s better to load everyone on a cart and move at once than carry them one by one.”
Paul found Brandok’s words reasonable.
At the same time, something about him felt subconsciously off.
He couldn’t pinpoint it, but something was strange.
“Let’s do as you said. It’ll take three days to walk to Regiville, and going on foot won’t be easy.”
Brandok immediately took the lead.
The cave’s structure was simple.
If it had been as complicated as an anthill, it would have been a headache, but following the single connected passage led to prisons appearing at intervals.
In the prison deeper inside, the merchants were confined.
Paul cut through the wooden bars with his sword and followed Brandok.
‘I know what this sense of incongruity is. Brandok is finding the way too well.’
He was holding a torch now, so the path was lit, but originally the cave must have been dark.
It should have been his first time coming here, yet Brandok’s steps were light and certain.
Having heard about the situation from Calimacos, Paul couldn’t disregard the presence of traps.
Even moving carefully might not be enough, yet Brandok walked lightly as a feather, which bothered him.
“Brandok, have you been here before?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why are you so good at finding the way?”
“There’s only one path. Is there even a way to get lost?”
“There might be traps. I’ll take the lead.”
“It’s fine. If there really are traps, it’s right that I go ahead. You’re the de facto vice-captain, Paul.”
Paul couldn’t refute that.
Brandok always had reasoning behind his words.
Even though he was an odd fellow who always wore a helmet, he didn’t say nonsense.
“Look at this. There’s treasure everywhere.”
“Incredible… If we had just left, we would’ve regretted it so much we’d pound the ground.”
The place Brandok led him to was a room where the bandit had stored all the wealth they had plundered.
There was enough money to fill an entire chest with silver coins.
More importantly, there were carts in this room. Not just one—ten.
It was a good thing he listened to Brandok.
“Let’s look for potions.”
“I doubt there are any. If there were, wouldn’t the bandit outside have been carrying them?”
“Still, we never know. Leaving Robin like that isn’t good.”
“His condition must be quite bad. Understood.”
They searched for about ten minutes, but no potion was found.
Deciding it was meaningless to continue, Paul came out dragging an empty cart.
“Brandok, you stay here and gather the expensive stuff first. I’ll bring the ones trapped in the prison outside.”
“Then I’ll follow soon.”
The cart Paul pulled began to fill as he loaded the merchants one by one.
He felt bad for loading people like cargo, but it wasn’t the time to care about that.
Once he loaded Torgen, Mirian, and Felix, the cart’s load capacity had long been exceeded.
“Brandok is perfectly fine, so why aren’t these guys waking up?”
Hoping at least one would wake soon, Paul stepped out of the cave.
“Torgen’s the one who’s good at pulling carts, though.”
The muscular giant seemed to flinch for a moment, but it was probably just his imagination.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
On the way to Regiville, just as Calimacos instructed.
Walking all the way to Regiville on foot with nothing but one’s body was practically half-insane.
Palacio set out burdened with the fear of encountering Monsters, wild beasts, or criminals.
Fortune came to Palacio.
Just as dawn was about to break, he lay down in despair, only for a group on horseback to appear.
Knights.
A knight under Baron Tefir was patrolling the area.
What were the odds of being rescued by a knight at a distance of a three-day walk from the city?
Upon hearing the situation, the knight headed toward the bandit’ hideout with Palacio.
“Here it is, Sir Greg. I heard the bandit are past this forest.”
“A forest surrounded by a Demon Tribe barrier. That child and the mercenary went into the forest?”
“Yes. They must have gone in to save their companions.”
The knight Greg, clad in full plate armor, dismounted.
The guards who followed Greg, along with Palacio, also got off their horses and waited for Greg’s command.
“I’ll go in first. In the meantime, if anyone comes out, make sure they don’t escape.”
““Yes, sir!””
Their loud answer only deepened Palacio’s worry.
Even if he was a knight, going into the forest alone?
Was he underestimating the barrier?
And even if he reached the bandit’ base, no one knew what might be there.
What exactly did he think he could accomplish alone…?
“Sir Greg, wouldn’t it be better if at least some forces go with you?”
“No. If many of us go and get ambushed, it’ll be troublesome. I’ll go alone.”
“But…”
“Are you saying you don’t trust me?”
Greg’s eyes bore down on Palacio.
“N-no! How could I not trust you! Without Sir Greg, I might already be dead.”
“Then there’s no problem.”
After checking his gear, Greg strode toward the forest.
Palacio could only watch.
Just before Greg stepped into the forest—
A man covered in blood, his left eye covered with a bandage, appeared.
Behind him, a muscular man dragged a cart.
It wasn’t just one cart.
Five carts were chained together, pulled by a single man.
The carts held injured people and the merchant group’s goods.
One cart was filled with silver coins and expensive-looking items.
“Palacio, you’re alive.”
Calimacos waved cheerfully.
Palacio returned the greeting awkwardly, and confusion formed on Greg’s face.
“This is Calimacos, the mercenary I mentioned. Sir Calimacos, this is Sir Greg, a knight under Baron Tefir.”
At the word knight, Calimacos’ expression twisted oddly.
Once the entire mercenary group came out and Greg observed the scene, he finally spoke.
“Mercenaries? I’d sooner believe you were bandit.”
“Don’t worry. I took care of the bandit. You should be thankful, actually. I did the guards’ job for them.”
“……”
Palacio’s jaw dropped.
A knight, a low-ranking noble with the rank of baronet, was someone commoners could not speak informally to.
Yet Calimacos casually used informal speech with Greg.
The guards looked no different from Palacio in their reaction.
Only Calimacos remained unbothered.
“We’re in a hurry. As you can see, there are many injured. We’ll be on our way.”
As Calimacos took a step, a sword was thrust toward his neck.
Greg’s sword moved so fast an ordinary person could hardly see it.
“Insolent fool. There are too many things I want to point out.”
“What? We’re busy. I said we’ve got injured people. Ah, do you happen to have any potions? Even lowest-grade ones? Take them out. I’ll pay fairly.”
Despite the blade touching his neck, Calimacos showed no tension.
If anything, a bit of competitive spirit flickered in him.
“Are you a noble?”
“What if I am?”
Greg flinched.
If Calimacos were a noble, speaking informally to a knight wouldn’t be wrong.
Worried he might have committed rudeness, Greg withdrew his sword and asked,
“Were you a noble?”
“No. I’m a commoner.”
Paul smacked his forehead.
“That crazy bastard. He could’ve just humored him a little.”
A vein bulged on Greg’s temple.