Chapter 55 - But Still (3)

Windhand frowned at the sight of someone who hadn't appeared even as morning came. Now that they had even hunted the dragon, there was no way he had run away because he didn't want to do the request...

"Is he still hunting?"

If that was the case, he was a man with incredible stamina. Not only had he spent the day in the stormy sea, but he had also spent the night in the forest.

"Didn't he get lost?"

"No way."

Rather than that, it seemed more likely that he hadn't found a single prey and was wandering around until he did. With his pride, it wouldn't be out of the question.

"Enough about that, you guys got plenty of rest, right?"

"Of course."

"The adventurers too?"

"They're in top shape as well."

Even if he couldn't feed them a hearty meal, he had at least let them sleep soundly. Some personnel—the Mages—had voiced immense dissatisfaction, saying he prioritized taking care of his own subordinates, but it was none of his business.

If they were pissed off, they could be the captain. Having the most complaints when they had the fewest deaths. What a bunch of weak Mages.

"Are you okay yourself, Captain?"

"Why wouldn't I be. If I get really tired, I'll sleep on the ship, so don't worry."

Today, as soon as the personnel from Gamak Bay arrived, they would return to Gruh Telz as quickly as possible. After that, they would take the promised ship and personnel and depart straight for Zakrati.

For that, his subordinates needed to gather their strength. Unless it was a peculiar region like the Dragon's Cry Gate, there actually wasn't much for him to do.

The reward for the Sea Dragon hunt or the compensation for the deaths?

That was none of his business. The contracts were a bit complicated, but the only one he had hired was the Demon Knight, and those guys were people contracted by the city, the Magic Tower, or others anyway.

They would return to the city on their own and claim their own rewards on their own.

"I just hope Gruh Telz and the Magic Tower keep their promises."

"They have to. If they don't..."

Oh right, the Archmage who was supposed to receive our compensation collapsed.

Windhand realized that fact and frowned. It was because he felt that Gruh Telz and the Magic Tower might feign ignorance at this rate.

"It's fine. If they don't give us a ship, we can just steal one, and I never expected anything from the Magic Tower from the start anyway."

However, he didn't lose hope. Not only had he already won over some of the adventurers, but he also had something he believed in.

"More than anything, we have the swordsman who split the sea and slashed down the dragon, so what more could we need?"

His gamble had succeeded beyond his imagination.

He felt sorry for his dead subordinates, but it was to the point where he couldn't feel any regret at all.

"Wow, that's true. What use are troops."

"In my opinion, that guy isn't human."

"You know, everything we planned is meaningless to that guy, isn't it? As long as he has a rowboat and someone to row it for him, I think he could see things through to the end. One swing of his sword and a ship would sink."

"Ahaha! You're right! One swing of his sword and a ship would sink!"

Windhand burst into laughter as he listened to his subordinates' words.

Was it because he had witnessed the man's martial prowess firsthand? Those words felt truly realistic.

It was even more so with the dragon's head sitting right in the middle of the village—the Mages had found it abandoned on the beach by the Demon Knight and dragged it over. That guy definitely considered it to be nothing more than a fish head.

"Hah, should we give it a try while we're at it? It really seems possible."

"Sounds good, doesn't it? Although it might be hard to fish Bipurit out of a sinking ship."

"How about we just ask him to leave the warship Bipurit is on and bury everything else at sea? And then ask him to bring us Bipurit's head."

"Kuahaha. That's not a bad idea. I should ask him when he gets here."

Of course, that man wouldn't refuse. Rather, wouldn't he ask back if that was all they needed?

Just imagining it was delightful. It was to the point of overshadowing all the anxiety and worries he had harbored while coming to Gruh Telz.

"If it's that much, Kipu and Tuna... Wayan would be happy too."

"Of course. Don't you know their personalities? They're the kind of guys who'd laugh and say it's a profitable trade if they could take down all those Bipurit bastards in exchange for their own lives!"

"Yeah..."

Yeah, truly. All the hardships he had harbored up until arriving at this port vanished like melting snow.

Now, he could stand tall in front of his dead subordinates, his brothers, and Piuon.

"But... Captain. You aren't going to take that, um, Inquisitor too, right?"

"Are you crazy? You want us to get beaten to death by the people?"

"Right? Phew."

Even if they lacked the dragon slayer and manpower, personnel from the Temple were an absolute no. That remained true even if that Inquisitor had left an incredibly strong impression.

Zakrati, and all the castles located in the Yabad region, had still not forgotten the atrocities committed by the Temple forty years ago.

"Honestly, even accompanying him this time was borderline terrible for me. I don't want to put him on a ship again."

"Me neither."

"Thank goodness we don't have to take him..."

Windhand stopped speaking and felt the earth rumbling from afar.

"It's the reinforcements!"

It seemed Gamak Bay had finally sent people over.

"Good, then let's make our final preparations... Boatswain, go tell the adventurers. We'll be departing soon. Itkam, you go to the leader and ask for horses. If he doesn't want to give them, show him the severed dragon head."

He had seen the Mages grinning earlier, having finally gotten the chance to observe the dragon, but business was business. Windhand gave the order to bring it, even if they had to take it by force.

"Yessir."

The first mate answered with satisfaction, stroking her scabbard.

"More importantly, why is the Demon Knight taking so long?"

While issuing orders to the sailors, he also looked for someone who might know the Demon Knight's whereabouts.

Soon, he spotted a young Cutie race man wearing a salt-stained hood.

"Hey, when is the Demon Knight coming?"

"I wouldn't know that. Sir Knight really likes wandering around on his own."

"You guys said you were traveling together temporarily, but you really don't seem close."

"It's temporary, but it's an open-ended temporary."

"So it's not just hunting the dragon together? I thought that was it since you said it was temporary."

"The goal is to hunt Satan, not the dragon."

"... Then isn't that not temporary?"

"Sir Knight is just a bit prickly."

So are they comrades or not? Windhand narrowed his eyes ambiguously.

"Oh, over there!"

Just then, the people who were busy receiving some of the relief supplies pointed to one side.

"There he comes, Sir Knight."

"Looks like it... but what the hell is he carrying?"

From afar, the Demon Knight could be seen carrying a massive load of something.

* * *

THUD!

I set down the things I had been carrying on my back all the way from the mountain.

Wow, I wasn't even joking, my entire body ached. It was so heavy that I thought I was going to pass out on the way here.

"A bear...?"

"There's a boar too...?"

Yeah. What I caught was a bear and a wild boar. Since both yielded a lot of meat, they were also beasts that boasted weights in the ton range.

Because of that, it was so hard dragging them here. I had seriously considered throwing one of them away. Even bringing both wouldn't be enough, so bringing just one would be even more meaningless, which was why I forced myself to power through.

"Hey, I don't think we need meat anymore."

Windhand asked with a sly grin. I had eyes too, so I knew exactly what he meant.

It meant that reinforcements had arrived, so it was time to go. Seeing them move the supplies now, it was a relief that I didn't seem to be late.

"How amusing. That you naturally assume this is yours."

In that sense, I ran my mouth a bit to keep in line with my concept, then roughly stepped to the side. Windhand laughed heartily before walking over to check the meat. DeB was with him as well.

"Then why did you bring it?"

"I merely killed the beasts that interrupted my walk."

"How tough."

"Sir Knight, then shall I distribute this to the people?"

I glanced at DeB, who perfectly took care of exactly what I wanted on my behalf, and turned my head away.

"Throw it away as you see fit."

"Yes, I will distribute it."

DeB chuckling made it seem like he was maliciously interpreting me as a tsundere, but as long as the meat went to the people, it was fine.

Watching DeB gesture to the people, I moved aside so it would be easier for the villagers to approach. The one who approached me then was Windhand with a giggling face.

I naturally slapped away the arm Windhand tried to wrap around my shoulders.

"We're going to get horses from the Gamak Bay reinforcements and head straight for Gruh Telz, do you need any time?"

What I was going to say was naturally set in stone.

"Lead the way."

Ah, but were the Archmage and Inquisitor awake? If they weren't awake yet, did I really have to leave them behind? Hiss. It couldn't be helped, but it was kind of a big deal.

"Eh, you're leaving right away?!"

However, DeB, who had overheard that, immediately showed a reaction. Seeing how he didn't say things like 'I'll wake them up' or 'I'll bring them,' it seemed they really weren't awake yet.

"W-What about the Mage or that stubborn blockhead?"

"Stubborn blockhead?"

"The Priest."

"Even if that guy was awake, we wouldn't take him."

... Windhand really hates the Temple.

At this rate, I figured the Inquisitor wouldn't have been able to tag along even if he were fine.

"Besides, we're in a hurry. I heard the Archmage will need at least two days before he wakes up."

The Archmage seemed okay but was a no-go because of his recovery time. He seemed willing to allow DeB, but I wasn't sure if he would follow me.

"What are you going to do?"

DeB let out a groan. Then he finally made a decision, which was as follows.

"I guess I have to follow. I joined up because of you in the first place, Sir Knight."

... Was that how it was?? You mean it wasn't the Archmage who persuaded you??

No, what did I even do?

"More than anything, we need to communicate to meet back up or whatever, but if you go alone, Sir Knight, you won't reply."

But then he immediately hit me where it hurts.

"Uhahaha! It certainly looks that way!"

Windhand started laughing like a maniac, and I reflexively placed my hand on the scabbard at my waist.

It was the very next moment that I realized my longsword was broken. Only an empty scabbard was caught in my grasp.

"Whoops, then I'll go pass the word to the Mages and Priests for now. You can wait that long, right?"

"Well, that much is fine."

When I grabbed my scabbard with a scowl, DeB hurriedly backed away.

I thought DeB and Windhand would surprisingly hit it off well. Honestly, if it wasn't for a personality that completely abandoned social skills like my concept, anyone could have synced up this well anyway.

"..."

Still, there was no way I could feel good about being teased with this temperament. I distorted my face and projected a vicious aura.

"Captain, I've borrowed the horses!"

If the first mate hadn't interrupted with a vibe that she had extorted them rather than borrowed them, I would have kept doing so.

Behind her was the Gamak Bay commander looking down at the dragon's head with a distressed look. If things had gone as planned, he would have commanded the dragon slayers.

"Oh, great! No complaints?"

"He said he'd get them ready right away after seeing the head. Oh, of course, he said he needs to come along to report. The rest of the personnel will slowly withdraw, he said."

"I don't care as long as we can head out right away. What about the adventurers?"

"There are enough horses. The adventurers are mostly packed up too. Oh, one person each from the Temple and the Magic Tower insists on coming along. What should we do?"

"As long as they don't get in the way of our travel, I don't care."

"Got it."

Windhand snapped his fingers. Soon, seeing them raise their hands one by one, I wondered if it wasn't a signal to check positions.

"Then gather around, everyone! We're leaving as soon as our Demon Knight friend gets here."

"Do not call me your friend."

"Acquaintance, then."

I gripped my scabbard tightly at Windhand as he slyly changed his words. Windhand should consider himself lucky that my longsword was broken.

"We could survive for three days with this."

"Oh my, how can we ever thank you."

But as the conversation briefly paused while waiting for DeB, the voices of the villagers reached my ears.

"... What does that matter? It's still a long way off until the sea returns."

"You!"

"Damn it, how are we supposed to survive for a month..."

There was always one person in the world who couldn't be happy even in a situation where they should be.

I wasn't saying it was a bad thing. In a group, especially on a village scale, it wasn't a bad thing to have at least one person who could look at reality coldly.

Though they'd need enough sense to read the room, given that it lowered morale.

"... You've done enough. That's the city's job now."

Yet Windhand said something like that to me. It seemed he thought I was worried about those people. My concept didn't have that much compassion, though.

"I have no interest."

I turned my body. Just as Windhand said, I had done everything I could. I couldn't help but care about it as a human, but there was no need to dwell on it for too long.

"Excuse me."

There was no need to dwell on it, but.

"Mister."

I came face-to-face with the child I had seen at night. It wasn't the kids from yesterday. Even before I had headed to Gruh Telz, let alone the dragon. It was the child I had encountered that night when I happened to stop by this village.

The child who wore black clothes then and was still wearing black clothes now.

"... I'm sorry for saying bad things back then."

The child bowed to me. The small head looked unusually round.

"What did you do to the kid to hear bad things?"

More importantly, hasn't this Windhand guy been subtly acting chummy with me for a while now? Are you DeB? Or are all professions with the 'thief' character in their name (Thief, Pirate) like this?

I smashed the back of my hand into the solar plexus of Windhand, who was trying to poke me in the ribs. Windhand's back bent at a ninety-degree angle.

"Pfft."

Even though it was right in front of his subordinates, no one said a word. Rather, the way they giggled and chattered about how he deserved it showed they were truly an unceremonious bunch.

"Kid."

Separately, I beckoned with my finger. The child flinched and then trotted over.

Now that I looked, she had grown a bit taller. The problem was that she looked small because she was too skinny.

"...?"

I reached into my inventory. There was something fitting to take out in this situation.

That is, it was dead stock that I really had no need for and was only taking up inventory space, but giving it to a kid in this situation would make for a perfect picture.

"This is..."

Adventurers of Tatara. I'll dispose of one piece of the dead stock you guys gave me right here.

I added something else into the small pouch necklace I took out from my inventory and handed it to the child.

"Is it okay if I take this?"

"Take it."

"Jina hasn't done a single good thing, though."

"I said, take it."

I wondered if I was speaking too harshly to a kid, but it couldn't be helped since my concept was like this. It was still a fairly good item, though.

「Lucky Pouch Necklace │ An accessory commonly seen in the Derma region. There is a superstition that wearing it will bring good luck into the pouch.」

The child blinked rapidly with the lucky pouch necklace resting in her hands. The lucky pouch made of five-colored threads might be no different from trash compared to what was inside it, but it was still quite pretty on the outside.

"I'm back from talking to them!"

"Oh, then let's get going."

Just in time, DeB came rushing back. It was now time to depart.

"Are you leaving right away?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go, then."

With the Gamak Bay commander who had been waiting with them also joining in, they were truly all ready to depart.

I didn't know when he had roped them in, but a couple of adventurers were also riding the horses with them. The dragon head loaded on the wagon—when did that get there?—looked unusually reassuring.

"What did you do to the kid again?"

"Again?"

"You gave the kids food yesterday."

"You must like kids."

Shouldn't there be no adults who dislike kids? No, even if they dislike them, treating kids well is just basic human decency.

Anyway, I drew my zweihander and lightly swung it.

SLASH!

The slash that skillfully avoided the people and split the earth also cut off the commotion in the surroundings.

"... Shall we set off?"

Fortunately, the annoying chatter of the guys who were slowly starting to act up fell within range.

"Yeah!"

I mounted my horse and gave it a signal.

Gasps from a child and adults came from behind.

"P-Pearl!"

"Huh?"

DeB, who had stuck close to my side even though he was scared, looked back.

I didn't bother doing so.

"Wait a minute, you left the pearl!"

"Eh? Pearl? Wait, Sir Knight..."

Good. Looking at the formation, it seemed I could ride at the very front.

My horse darted out to the very front.