Chapter 55
The road toward the Makerdiran Mountain Range was quieter than Theron expected.
Just as the Mercenary Guild had said...
Very few people traveled this route at this time of year.
After about an hour...
Even the well-used road came to an end.
Tall trees and thick brush crowded both sides.
The mountain range that had once been distant...
Now filled Theron's entire view.
He watched the back of the man walking ahead.
The guide introduced by the Delkena Mercenary Guild.
True to his reputation as someone who knew the mountain range like his own home...
There was no hesitation in his steps.
He never stopped at forks in the road.
Sometimes...
All he needed was one fallen tree or familiar rock to immediately choose the proper direction.
He really does know the terrain.
So far...
Theron was satisfied.
There was only one problem.
Step.
Theron's pace slowed.
At almost exactly the same moment...
The guide walking ahead also stopped.
"..."
Several rough presences came from beyond the bushes.
One.
Two.
Three...
And that was not all.
Theron subtly turned his head.
Two more behind them.
They had positioned themselves from the beginning...
Clearly intending to block the road.
A moment later...
Rustle.
Several men emerged from the bushes.
Worn leather armor.
Swords and axes hanging from their waists.
They looked like adventurers or mercenaries.
But the expressions on their faces...
Belonged more to bandits.
"Hey, kid."
The man in front grinned.
Theron silently looked at him.
The man's gaze naturally moved over Theron's belt and clothing.
"The world's become peaceful, hasn't it?"
"Even little herbalist kids walk around carrying that much money."
The men beside him chuckled.
Then the man in the center spoke.
"Hand over everything you have."
"We don't enjoy cutting children's throats."
"Heh."
"If you behave, we'll even let you live."
Theron sighed inwardly and looked sideways.
The guide?
"..."
The man looked completely calm.
When their eyes met...
He even shrugged.
As though none of this had anything to do with him.
This man...
Had he known beforehand?
Or did he simply not care?
Either way...
It was not important right now.
"What are you doing?"
"Don't understand words?"
One of the men frowned when Theron remained still.
He approached.
"Give us your money."
His hand reached toward Theron's chest.
At that moment...
STAB!
A short blade entered beneath his jaw.
"Ghk...!"
His eyes widened.
Theron did not hesitate.
He twisted the blade free and turned.
"You little bastard!"
SHING!
The mercenary beside him drew his sword.
But before he could fully pull it free...
Theron was already inside his reach.
THUD!
The end of Theron's dagger handle struck his throat.
"Ghk!"
The man folded forward.
SLASH!
The blade passed across his neck.
He fell with an expression that showed he still could not understand what had happened.
THUD!
Then...
"K-Kill him!"
The others rushed in.
Theron remained calm.
Three ahead.
Two behind.
The closest ones first.
Rustle.
Wandering Wind.
The instant his foot touched the ground...
Theron's figure blurred.
"What...?"
The man swinging his sword lost sight of him.
The next moment...
STAB!
A blade entered his side.
"Aaaaaagh!"
The strike came from somewhere completely unexpected.
He could not even react before screaming.
But that scream was his last.
RIP!
Theron twisted the weapon sideways.
The wound opened...
And the man's intestines spilled out.
Without a Saintess appearing from nowhere...
A wound like that was unquestionably fatal.
Thud.
Theron shoved the dying man sideways...
Blocking the path of another mercenary rushing in.
Then immediately turned...
And charged the two men behind him.
"W-What?!"
"S-Stop him!"
The boy was barely half their size.
So why did he look so large?
The pressure felt like a giant predator was charging them.
The two mercenaries instinctively swung.
Whoosh! SWISH!
Their blades cut nothing but air.
They stared in confusion at the empty space.
Then...
SLASH! SLASH!
"Agh!"
"Aaaaagh!"
Burning pain struck their ankles.
Their legs lost strength.
As the two men dropped to their knees...
A black shadow fell over them.
STAB! STAB!
No hesitation.
Watching this...
The remaining two men froze.
What was happening?
Even after seeing it with their own eyes...
They could not believe it.
They had thought they were robbing some young herbalist carrying too much money.
"This is insane..."
One instinctively stepped backward.
He finally understood.
This was not someone they could fight.
The man turned and ran.
"..."
Theron frowned.
Letting him go...
Would definitely create more trouble.
Theron flipped the dagger and caught the blade between his fingers.
"Hup!"
With a short breath...
He threw it toward the fleeing man's back.
SWOOOOOSH!
The spinning dagger crossed the distance...
And buried itself directly into his neck.
He collapsed without even managing to scream.
"H-Hiiiiik!"
The final man fell onto the ground.
His face twisted in terror as he stared at Theron.
"P-Please!"
"I-I only followed them because they said there was easy money!"
"I..."
But before he could finish...
CRACK!
The guide buried his axe into the man's head.
Theron looked at him.
The guide spoke calmly.
"You were going to kill him anyway, weren't you?"
"It'll get dangerous after sunset."
"We should keep moving."
"...Fair enough."
Theron searched the dead mercenaries.
Several silver coins.
And one usable longsword.
The blade was not particularly long...
Meaning it would be easy enough to wield with his current body.
Well... at least I got a useful weapon out of this.
Using only a dagger had been inconvenient.
Once Theron finished...
He looked at the guide.
"Let's go."
The guide nodded.
Then resumed walking as though nothing had happened.
"...The trail splits here."
At the edge of the forest...
The tracker crouching over the ground spoke.
The man standing behind him stiffened.
He silently stepped forward.
Footprints.
Broken branches.
Grass pressed down faintly.
What should have been one continuous trail...
Had split into two.
The problem was...
Both looked completely natural.
"..."
The man's brows tightened.
Barkanis.
A tracker organization that used the symbol of two overlapping wolves.
When it came to following human traces...
They were confident they were among the best.
But...
What is this?
One trail went west.
The other northwest.
Depth of footprints.
Direction.
Even the way the grass had bent.
The false trail was so precise...
He could not confidently identify which was fake.
"Captain."
"Which one do we follow?"
One subordinate asked carefully.
The captain did not answer immediately.
The information had been simple.
Capture a boy younger than fifteen.
And yet...
What kind of experience does a child have to do this?
Not only had he erased his trail...
He had deliberately created false tracks.
This was not something an ordinary boy could do.
Even veteran trackers had difficulty deceiving pursuers this calmly while being hunted.
The captain pressed his lips together.
"We split."
"What?"
"Divide the team in half."
"We follow both trails."
He looked around.
"The moment anyone finds his trail again, fire a signal flare."
"Do not approach him alone."
"Understood."
"Move."
The trackers split into two groups.
Each disappeared into the forest following one trail.
The captain remained for a moment.
He stared down at the two sets of tracks and clenched his jaw.
How long do you think you can keep running?
No matter how skilled the boy was...
He could not evade Barkanis forever.
We will not lose you.
Then the captain followed one trail.
The sun was descending beyond the mountain ridge.
Theron and the guide had already passed the entrance to the Makerdiran Mountain Range.
The path grew narrower with every step.
Even the faint trails created by human feet slowly began disappearing.
Theron followed silently for a while.
Then he suddenly spoke.
"Can I ask something?"
"What?"
"Why aren't you asking me anything?"
The guide continued walking.
Theron watched his back.
"You saw what happened earlier."
"I did."
"And you're not curious?"
A young herbalist had killed seven mercenaries in moments.
There were far too many things about that scene that should have seemed strange.
The guide finally stopped and looked back.
"An interesting rumor has been going around Hollen."
Theron's gaze lowered.
"Hollen?"
"A few Barkanis hunting dogs were killed."
"Barkanis?"
Theron had never heard the name before.
The guide resumed walking.
"They're a tracker organization whose symbol is two overlapping wolves."
That instant...
An object appeared in Theron's thoughts.
The bronze token.
Two wolves carved onto its surface.
So that was Barkanis.
The guide continued.
"And strangely enough..."
"The people those vicious bastards are hunting..."
"Are boys around thirteen or fourteen."
The guide pointed at Theron.
"You're in your early teens."
His finger remained directed toward him.
"You're traveling alone."
"And for a simple herbalist kid..."
"You carry far too much money."
The guide's eyes remained calmly fixed on Theron.
"Wouldn't it be strange if I didn't suspect something?"
"..."
Theron silently stared at him.
The mountain air grew quiet.
It would not have been surprising if a sword were drawn at any moment.
Then Theron asked,
"If you reported me..."
"You'd make far more money than I'm paying you."
It was a reasonable question.
Turning Theron in...
Would almost certainly earn the guide far more than the fee for guiding him.
Then...
"I was the one who gave those mercenaries information about you."
"...What?"
Theron's expression showed slight surprise.
The guide answered,
"I needed to test you."
"Test me?"
The guide looked deeper into the mountain range.
Dark ridges overlapped one another.
"Do you know what the interior of Makerdiran is like right now?"
"I heard the monsters have become more aggressive."
"It's worse than that."
The guide shook his head.
"Even experienced adventurers refuse to enter the deeper regions."
"Food has become scarce."
"The monsters' territories have completely shifted."
He looked at Theron again.
"So I needed to know how capable you really were."
"Whether you were truly skilled enough that Barkanis would bother hunting you."
"...Hah."
Theron's eyes turned colder.
What exactly is this man?
The guide immediately continued before Theron's gaze became any sharper.
"Because I also have a reason to go deep inside."
"...So you were searching for someone strong enough to protect you?"
"Exactly."
For the first time...
The guide smiled faintly.
"So let's make this beneficial for both of us."
"...That sounds rather one-sided."
"I seem to be the only one who paid money."
"You earned something earlier."
The guide gestured toward Theron's new sword.
"That sword."
Then he turned away.
"I'll guide you exactly where you want to go."
"So don't worry."
"And..."
He glanced back.
"I'm probably the only person in Delkena who realized who you are."
"How can you be sure?"
"People who receive information as quickly as I do aren't common."
His voice was full of confidence.
Theron narrowed his eyes.
He isn't merely someone who knows the mountains.
Still...
Theron did not press him.
The guide had not questioned Theron either.
At least for now...
They each had something the other needed.
That was enough.
Theron nodded.
"Fine. Then let's hurry."
"Then I'll consider the deal made."
With that...
The guide began walking again.
Theron silently followed him deeper into the Makerdiran Mountain Range.
