CH 65

The ground collapsed right below the centipede’s feet. When the centipede burrowed through the ground with its gargantuan body, it caused a disturbance in the stability of the soil, and the ground was weakened. It could not withstand the weight of the monster anymore. To make matters worse, the large nearby boulder fell over onto the centipede’s body.

Kyaaaaaagh–!

Carlton leisurely stepped outside the hazardous zone. The ground’s collapse was one of his goals.

The centipede dug into the ground and hid whenever it found itself at a disadvantage. Naturally, the monster left behind a long tunnel whenever it did so. Of course, the ground beneath his feet shook. Without fail, those passages would collapse. At that moment, the huge boulder caught the mercenary’s eyes. Carlton deliberately led the centipede to hide underground and sought to counterattack it near the large boulder. Just as he expected, the centipede faltered in confusion in the collapsing soil and was squashed by the boulder.

When the tremors subsided, Carlton approached the centipede. The centipede struggled until the end–when it saw the mercenary approached, it clacked its mandibles at him. However, that was all it could do. The monster’s body was a wreck–it couldn’t push the boulder away. It couldn’t even escape into the ground.

Carlton casually stepped on the centipede’s head and inserted his sword into the monster’s bright red eyes. Several times. The monster screeched and hit its tail onto the ground, flopping about in its dying throes. Eventually, it wearied, and the centipede’s body went limp.

This was Carlton’s victory.

“W-Wow…” Luisen mouth gaped wide open. That was a more dramatic reversal than any theatric play. Just when it had seemed like the mercenary was pushed back by the centipede, he had killed the monster in an instant. At first, the young lord wondered if Carlton had gotten lucky, but the young lord soon changed his mind when he saw the mercenary avoiding the danger zones. It was clear that he had defeated the centipede through precise calculations.

He took advantage of the centipede’s own strengths–its ability to hide underground–against the monster. What a clever, quick-witted ploy. Amazing. So cool. How could he act so boldly when his life was at stake? Even though he was a mere observer, Luisen felt like his heart would burst.

“Wow, that person killed the centipede all by himself!” The villagers, who could not escape far away, gathered around the young lord to watch Carlton’s fight. Everyone was mesmerized by the dramatic turnabout victory. They had yet to be struck by the reality that the centipede was now only a cooling corpse.

Carlton beheaded the monster. Then, as if he were kicking a ball, he launched the Centipede’s head away.

“W-Wow… Waaaahhhh!!!!” The villagers went wild–a wave of excitement swept through them. It finally sunk in–the monster was dead. That mercenary had killed two monsters and saved the town again!

Paying no heed to who should approach the man first, the people rushed at Carlton. The villagers scrambled around to praise him. Luisen had also joined the crowd and approached his companion.

Carlton smiled cheekily–despicably confident–when he saw the young lord. When Luisen saw that smile, his breath was suddenly caught in his throat. Though the mercenary remained victorious, if the heavens willed it and turned their favor away, Carlton could have been caught in the ground’s collapse and defeated by the centipede’s blind struggle.

‘Why are you laughing like that when things could have been disastrous? You make your audience’s heart burn with worry.’

“You…You madman.”

“Was it so bad that, instead of a compliment, you must curse at me?” Carlton protested.

Luisen tried to speak further but soon surrendered himself to a surge of emotion. He strode up to the man and hugged the mercenary tightly.

Carlton opened his eyes wide with shock; his pupils rapidly shook side to side. “…Revered pilgrim?”

His dumbfounded expression did not suit his veteran mercenary identity. Paying no heed, Luisen hugged Carlton even tighter and whispered in to his ears, “You did well–very impressive. You’re truly the best.”

Carlton had been through many battles, but compliments–not ones fueled through fear or jealousy, true praise–were unfamiliar to him. It tickled the mercenary, but he didn’t hate it. Rather, it felt like his heart was swelling.

Carltons hands hesitated for a moment before returning Luisen’s embrace. At that sight, the villagers, drunk on triumph, went wild. They hugged each other and comforted each other for their struggles.

The heated atmospehre did not subside for a while; soon the others, who heard the centipede’s screeches, joined the masses. In the midst of that atmosphere, Luisen and Carlton held each other for quite a long while.

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***

By the time the centipede was killed, the sun had already set. Luisen and Carlton stayed overnight in the village. Though the village felt that even a grand feast wasn’t sufficient for their valiant heores, the night passed quietly–after all, the aftershocks of the ground collapsing had reached the village outskirts, breaking things here and there. They simply couldn’t afford it.

The next day: Unexpected people arrived at the village at dawn: the guard captain at Confosse and one of the ruling Lord’s knights. After being contacted by the village chief, the guard captain had raced here with a few others; the knight had recieved a call, around two months ago, that there were suspicious folks wandering about the forest. Though the knight was hesitant of the veracity of such rumors, he had appeared as well.

They were startled at the state of the village and nearly fainted at the sight of the centipede’s corpse. After receiving updates from the villagers, the guard captain and knight wanted to see Luisen and Carlton–each for their own reasons. However, the two had already left the village at dawn.

The two thought their presence would be too burdensome for the impoverished village; there was no need to stay any longer when they have done all they needed to do. So, they left the room and left behind a single note explaining their thought process…

Honestly, they had escaped at down because they didn’t want to draw more attention, but they couldn’t add that detail into the note. The villagers were deeply moved at the thought that their heores were so considerate of their difficult situation.

Among the grateful, the captain’s heart was especially affected. Luisen and Carlton had ventured into a cetipede den to find his missing wife. They could have just returned to him and informed him of his wife’s disappearance; the fact that they had taken such a risk to keep their promise to him and return Anna to safety moved him to tears.

Thanks to that, his wife had safely woken from her stasis. Though she didn’t remember anything that had happened after being captured by the centipede, she remembered a person–the revered pilgrim perhaps?–caressing her forehead. The guard captain reflected on the holy doctrine as he recalled the pilgrim that had protected his family–a light that shine mercifully upon those in the dark. Were they sent by God to shine light upon their world? The married couple gave thanks for their safety and prayed for a safe pilgrimage for Luisen and Carlton.

A few weeks later, the captain’s wife gave birth: a healthy daughter. The couple named their child with a religiously symbolic name, one that meant ‘God’s blessing,’ to honor their savior.

***

The Anies duchy was grieving, drowning in sorrow.

Not long ago, they had lost contact with the entourage that left for the capitol; only Ruger had returned to the duchy. Injured and exhausted, Ruger said that the group was suddenly attacked by some monsters; in the midst of that chaos, Carlton had abducted Luisen. At first, they couldn’t believe Ruger’s words, but, as all others had died, they had no choice but to believe in him.

The Anies duchy went out all in their efforts to find Luisen but found nothing. As time passed and anxiety increased, they could only languish in their helplessness.

Ruger, who had manufactured this whole situation, also wasn’t in a good shape. ‘Damn it. Where the hell is he?’

He had no idea where Carlton and Luisen were either.

After Carlton jumped into the waterful, Ruger scoured the surrounding area. Contrary to his expectations that he’d find them soon, Luisen could not be found anywhere. ‘I thought he’d return to the dukedom, but..’

Luisen was like a snail–he tended to hide away in his home at the hint of danger. That person thought that the duchy and capital were all that mattered due to his limited wordly knowledge.

‘Then, he should have returned to the duchy.’

Ruger had his helper explore the surroundings with the direwolves and returned to the dukedom alone. Then, he lied to everyone, stating that Carlton had kidnapped Luisen. Someone needed to be the scapegoat and the mercenary was a notoriously good fit for the job.

‘Without that bastard, the plan would have been perfect.’

Whether by scaring Luisen into running away under the cover of darkness or to succeed in his kidnap attempt…if it hadn’t been for Carlton, Luisen would be in his grasp by now.

‘I didn’t like him from the first time we met. He has no idea what he’s spouting. Does he think that, because he can run all over the place, he’s all that? Nothing changes the vulgarity of his lowborn status.’

Ruger loathed Carlton–he was frustrated that Luisen and the mercenary were left alone together.

However, Luisen did not appear no matter how long he waited. His master, who placed him as a secret agent and ordered the kidnapping, had grilled him for more information; his subordinates had no idea where they should go. While suffering from a head-rending head-ache, he had learned that Carlton’s men had been captured.

Ruger rushed to go meet the mercenary’s men–it was exceedingly difficult to do so. The general had prevented anyone from seeing them. Ruger had gone to the general to try and discuss this matter, but the man had kicked Ruger out saying, “Just focus on your own recovery.”

Ruger snorted as he closed the door to the general’s office. ‘What? He wants me to focus on my own health and nothing else? How dare this old man play tricks with me.’

It was obvious that the man had just given him a generic excuse. Even though Ruger had a bandage wrapped around his head, the general had not once asked how he was feeling.

‘He must be blocking me from meeting with Carlton’s men. He’s suspicious of me.’

The general did not believe that Carlton had kidnapped Luisen. Rather, he doubted Ruger. Because he suspected that there were hidden factors in this case, he had to do something to uncover some information.

The old vassal who had led the duchy for so long was disgustingly clever. It was fascinating how a man like that could raise a fool like Luisen.

‘Does he really think that I won’t be able to uncover information without his permission?’ Ruger paced in front of the general’s office like an obsessed man before heading for a deserted hallway. Soon, a maid came out of an office and, after confirming no others were nearby, went after Ruger.

“Dear, are you alright?” The maid asked Ruger in a pitying tone as she caressed his face.

She was a low-level maid in charge of various chores in the general’s office and someone Ruger had put a great deal of effort into. She believed that she and Ruger were intimate lovers, but, to Ruger, she was a useful source of information. That’s why he approached her in the first place. This time as well he was sure he’ll be able to find more information through her.

“I guess the general doesn’t trust me because I’m an outsider,” Ruger bowed his head as if he were lost in emotion.

The maid’s heart was shaken by Luisen’s distressed performance. ‘It wasn’t like he wanted to do anything bad; he wanted to do all he could as a sick person.’ This time, she felt like the General went overboard. “I heard a few things…”

A lover’s weak visage was enough to stimulate her sympathy. ‘Why is it so hard to say only a few words to cheer up a loved one?’

***

‘Confosse. Confosse, huh.’ Ruger reflected on what he had heard from the maid. The general must have been very careful–much of her information wasn’t very useful–but it was still interesting to hear that Carlton’s subordinates were caught near Confosse.

‘Those guys were waiting for Carlton at Confosse. The duke must be with the mercenary, I suppose.’

It was easy to figure out that Luisen and Carlton were not returning to the duchy and were, instead, heading straight to the capital.

‘That’s why I couldn’t find them no matter how hard I searched. They’re acting opposite to my expectations–I’m sure this is Carlton’s idea. The duke isn’t so bold.’

Luger clenched his fist as he imagined Carlton threatening his duke and forcing him to the capital. Anger bubbled up from within him.

‘I’ll need to personally go to Confosse. I’ll retake the Duke with my own hands.’

It didn’t matter if Luisen had already gone past Confosse. The direwolves had an amazing sense of smell–he was confident that the monsters would be able to chase quickly as long as they started there.

‘I guess I must catch Luisen myself. Since I cared for and betrayed my owner, I must finish this well.’ Ruger’s thoughts were somewhat contradictory, but those thoughts came so naturally to the man that he didn’t notice the contradiction at all.