CH 61

The village they called ‘the place next to the large boulder’ was located deep within the forest. The people there made a living by collecting the forest resources and exporting to cities like Confosse.

The forests here were dense and inhabited by various wild animals and contained a variety of natural resources. Of course, there were monsters, but they usually stayed at a distance. The two groups lived in uneasy harmony by avoiding each other’s territories. Though the village wasn’t spectacular, it was quiet and peaceful–at least there wasn’t anything particularly wrong with the place.

However, about a month ago, the village’s peace was broken. One day, a giant centipede burrowed here and began to live in the forest. No one knew where it came from or why it settled here. Suddenly–like a bolt from the blue–without anyone’s notice, it began living in this forest. They said that it began to devour living organisms with its vigorous appetite–people, animals, and other monsters.

“That thing was truly a monster. No blades worked on it at all. And it was so tremendously big…” The villagers lost their motivation due to the giant centipede’s power and its terrible, unsightly appearance. They couldn’t even dream of eradicating it. Even with all their gathered strength, fences, and advantageous terrain, they were only able to prevent it from entering the village. The village people hid in their homes, pierced by fear. They couldn’t dare confront the centipede.

“You couldn’t ask Confosse or the ruling Lord for help?”

“Even if we wanted to do that, we’d need to be able to leave the village. That thing was so perceptive…”

No matter how cautiously they moved, the giant centipede extraordinarily noticed them and moved to attack them. It was as if the centipede had eyes everywhere in the forest. At first, they had sent several people to ask for help, but all the messengers were eaten by the centipede.

“Therefore, no one wants to step foot outside the village boundaries anymore. We’re simply eating what we stored for winter… Actually, we were incredibly worried as to whether or not we could withstand the coming cold season,” one man said.

“On my way here, my mind was plagued by many thoughts. What if that monster was still alive? What if an even more frightening monster had appeared?” another continued.

The giant centipede’s screeches were too terrible. The sound seemed to rip through and scratch at their ear canals. As they approached, they thought they would die today. But, when they finally came upon the scene, they had discovered the monster’s corpse and a human standing above it.

In fact, if Carlton stood there alone, they would have turned their backs and ran away immediately. How could they deal with a man who could confront the giant centipede alone and come out of the battle without a single scratch? That person couldn’t be ordinary. However, since a pilgrim was with him, they had judged that the two weren’t dangerous and mustered up their courage to start a conversation.

While listening to the villagers’ explanation, Luisen asked something he had been curious about. “Confosse’s guard captain said he had sent several messengers. Have you seen any of them?”

“…No outsiders have come by our villager in the past month.”

Just as the centipede attacked Luisen and Carlton, the monster would have probably attacked those messengers. In that case, it would have been difficult for those people to escape with their lives.

“…That’s why all lines of communication have been completely cut.” Hearing their circumstances, it was easy to understand their predicament. The giant centipede who killed indiscriminately was at fault.

It wasn’t even their intent, but it seems that Luisen and Carlton had unexpectedly solved their problems.

After roughly hearing the whole story, Luisen scooched over and plastered himself against the mercenary’s side. When the two of them made it obvious that they had things to discuss, the villagers quietly took the hint, walked up front, and widened their lead. Luisen pulled at the mercenary’s arm; the mercenary bent his waist in order to listen. Careful to lower his voice and keep quiet from those ahead, the young lord whispered, “It seems…we sorted everything out?”

“We didn’t mean to, but it ended well,” Carlton whispered back quietly. “Our business has become simple. Let’s just go to the village, deliver the letter to the captain’s wife, and return.”

“I suppose we should,” Luisen answered listlessly.

Carlton perceived the change in mood and continued, “We should have a quick meal before we leave.”

“That’d be great.” The young lord nodded his head up and down to convey his anticipation. He was looking forward to eating the rest of the bread he had brought from Confosse.

As they conversed, the village soon appeared before them. A huge boulder stood high towards the back; a brick fence surrounded the village. Something felt strange–the fence was far too sloppy and short to block the centipede from crossing over.

As they neared, there were countless people gathered at the entrance. It seemed that every able-bodied villager had come out.

“What happened? Who are these people?” The villagers’ faces were wary. In a situation where they were already frightened by the giant monster, a stranger’s appearance made them uneasy and fussy.

“This revered pilgrim here has come to help our village on behalf of Confosse’s guard captain.”

Luisen blatantly showcased the pilgrim’s pass. Because the silver in the pass sparkled brilliantly and refracted light, those in the back could see the characteristic shine. Some of the religious folk bowed with their hands clasped together. Luisen received their greetings modestly without seeming submissive or reluctant.

“What about the centipede? What happened to it?” they asked.

“This person, the private mercenary that’s guarding the pilgrim, killed the monster!” The man’s words caused a great stir amongst the masses.

“Truly?! That thing is dead?”

“That person alone? That makes no sense!”

“However, I saw it with my own eyes. It laid there dead, belly-up. They even set fire to its corpse.”

“Really? That man killed it?”

“It’s true. Why would I lie?” The men who guided Luisen and Carlton to the villaged began to explain what they saw. The villagers rid themselves of suspicion and celebrated the death of the giant centipede. Some shouted; some wept, crying that they were saved. Some people rushed to tell this news to their families back home.

In this happy pandemonium, the young lord and mercenary quickly became saviors of the town; gratitude poured forth from all quarters. Luisen gave all credit to his companion–he said that Carlton noticed the centipede’s approach and had even saved his life. The ‘pilgrim’s’ humble attitude further encouraged the villagers’ joy.

A child rushed forth and handed Carlton a present. It was only a few small acorns, but their heart was in that gesture. Carlton stared blankly at the child’s outstretched hand.

‘Acorns? What do they want me to do with this?’

Luisen, who couldn’t endure that sight anymore, stabbed Carlton in the ribs with his arm. Startled, Carlton picked them up. The child bowed deeply with gratitude, almost bending in half, and then ran to their mother.

Looking at Carlton’s furrowed brows, the young lord asked, “What’s wrong? Are you upset that you received mere acorns?”

“Do you really think I would’ve expected to get a gold bar in a place like this?”

“…Then, why is your expression like that?”

“…Just because…” Contrary to his outward expression, Carlton felt incredibly awkward.

Humans were scared of unfamiliar things. They were even more reluctant to approach unfamiliar beings if they’re far stronger than they are. Therefore, the more Carlton showcased his strength and danced with his blade, the more people feared him. If Carlton were a knight or perhaps some aristocrat’s slave, they might not be so reluctant to approach, but his status as a mercenary made others even more uncomfortable.

Of course, the mercenary was used to such treatment; besides, he intentionally acted crueller in order to garner more hostility and stoke anger. He shouldn’t be upset with that. It was better to cause fear than to be considered a pushover.

However, it felt strange to hear such gratitude and to receive small gifts. He had never felt so awkward and embarrassed. Carlton stuffed the acorns into his pocket with a sullen expression.

“With how you took care to store those acorns, it doesn’t seem like you hate it–relax your face. That child’s getting scared.” Luisen giggled beside him. His companion got acorns as a gift from a child! ‘It’s so funny, I might laugh to death. Carlton’s men need to see this!’

For a long while, the villagers’ enthusiasm didn’t cool off. After a while, waiting for the buzzing energy to subside, the village chief ran barefoot over to the two after hearing the news. “Thank you so much for saving our village. You two are our saviors.”

After spouting out a deluge of thanks, he calmly invited Luisen and Carlton into his house. The man presented himself with mature dignity–though he may not have been wearing shoes. Luisen glanced at the chief’s bare feet from time to time as they walked alongside the older man.

“By the way, Mark… No, the guard captain, requested you to come here?”

“He said he had grown up in this village.”

“That’s right. He’s the most successful person from our town. 1 Anna is also from our village–oh, Anna is the name of Mark’s wife. He must have sent someone because he lost all contact with our village. He’s a very attentive man.” The chief seemed very proud that his small village produced someone that went on to become a guard captain.

“There’s that–but we were also incredibly worried about his wife. Come to think of it, where is she? I’d like to give her her husband’s greetings and hand her his letter.” Luisen looked around at the villagers. He couldn’t see a pregnant woman or a swollen stomach anywhere. Was she not well enough to walk around outside? The young lord began to worry whether or not the village was able to endure the troubles the giant centipede had inflicted.

But the chief suddenly stopped and urgently asked, “Anna? He said that Anna was currently in our village? Didn’t Anna return to Confosse?”

What was he saying?

Luisen and Carlton also stopped. The chief’s face turned starkly pale. How ominous.