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Chapter 51 – Escort Request (1)

Chapter 51: Escort Request (1)

“An escort request, huh. Well, well.”

The thief said, his face showing surprise.

“It’s amazing that you’re already capable of such things… you truly are extraordinary.”

“It’s not extraordinary. It’s just an opportunity.”

Ketal replied, chewing on his meat.

“It seems I’ll be leaving this place for a while. I thought I should let you know in advance.”

“Thank you for telling us. It’s a shame.”

The thief murmured with genuine regret etched on his face.

He had been greatly influenced by Ketal.

He had planned to live quietly and die like a street rat, but his thoughts changed as he got involved in various incidents around Ketal.

Now, Ketal was leaving for a while, maybe even for a long time.

This was a regrettable event for the thief.

The paladin also nodded, sharing the sentiment.

Only the nun, Heize, let out a deep sigh of relief inside.

‘He’s finally leaving…’

She was still afraid of Ketal.

During the battle between Aquaz and the demon, Ketal had asked why he needed to get involved.

His expression had shown pure curiosity, a genuine desire to simply observe the battle.

At that moment, Heize realized that Ketal’s values were fundamentally different from theirs.

Superficially, there seemed to be no major differences, but in essence, he was entirely twisted.

He was something wearing a human disguise.

He was kind and good, but she couldn’t tell what lay inside him.

She often had nightmares where Ketal crushed her head.

Despite the fact that Ketal had saved her life and helped her many times, her instinctive fear could not be quelled.

Now, Ketal was moving away from her.

That fact alone brought her peace of mind.

However, she knew she shouldn’t show it outwardly, so she also put on a regretful expression.

“It’s truly a shame, Ketal. I thought we could go on many more adventures together, but now we’ll be separated like this….”

“…Is that so?”

Ketal was deeply moved by their attitudes.

They all felt regret and sorrow over his departure.

This made him very happy.

‘Yes. This is what comrades are.’

There was no need for clichés about banishment or anything like that.

Genuine comrades who stood back-to-back and felt sorrow over their parting.

That alone filled a part of his heart.

“Don’t worry. Fate is a strange thing. We’ll definitely meet again someday.”

“Yes, yes….”

Heize grew anxious again at his words.

‘…We’re going to meet again, aren’t we?’

She tried to suppress her anxiety and banish the ominous thoughts from her mind.

Therefore, she did not remember that she had given Ketal an invitation to her church.

Time passed, and as the sun set and the moon rose.

Elene and Aaron sat gloomily in their lodging.

“It’s almost time.”

They had to embark on their journey to the Denian Kingdom.

Normally, they would have been very excited and looking forward to it, but now it felt like they were waiting for their execution.

The reason was simple. Aaron tried to comfort her.

“Please don’t worry too much. He’s a mercenary. Being a C-rank mercenary means he has considerable achievements. If there haven’t been any problems so far… he might surprisingly be okay.”

“But he’s a barbarian.”

Elene said with a bitter smile.

“Has there ever been a safety measure that worked on a barbarian?”

“…”

Aaron couldn’t respond.

Barbarians were irrational and emotional beings, acting according to their own wills.

No amount of gold, treasure, or beautiful women could sway them.

Yet, the reason barbarians hadn’t perished was simple.

Their strength was immense.

Many kingdoms had tried to use the simple-minded barbarians.

The reason this is in the past tense is that all those kingdoms were destroyed because of the barbarians.

Her kingdom also had some dealings with barbarians, but it had never ended well.

“Considering there have been no issues so far, he must be different from a typical barbarian. But still, he’s a barbarian. You never know when he might act on his emotions.”

Trust in a barbarian’s past behavior meant nothing.

Just because a dud bomb hadn’t exploded yet didn’t mean it was safe.

It was simply a dangerous element.

Aaron bit his lip.

“Perhaps we should wait here for another mercenary.”

“That’s not possible.”

Elene immediately rejected the idea.

“If we do that, only a slow death awaits us. Even if he’s an unpredictable dud, we have to take the risk.”

That was their situation.

Aaron lowered his head.

“Your Highness. If the worst happens, I will act as your shield.”

“No. You are my retainer. What kind of master doesn’t protect their retainers?”

The sound of sobbing echoed once more.

Time passed as they talked.

Elene’s expression grew darker.

“Let’s go, Aaron.”

“Yes.”

The two left their lodging and headed toward the entrance of the territory.

There, their mercenary was waiting for them.

“You’re here. I was beginning to wonder if something had happened since you’re late.”

“We were just making some preparations.”

“I see.”

Ketal didn’t press them further and smiled broadly.

“Let’s head out then. We have a long journey ahead.”

“Yes…”

The two followed Ketal with expressions like livestock being led to slaughter.

They departed in the early evening; normally, they would have set out in the morning, but Elene had insisted on this timing.

The route had already been decided via the map.

Although they could reach their destination in two weeks if they took the main road, Elene wanted to avoid people, so they had no choice but to take a roundabout route that would take at least twice as long.

“A month, huh. That’s quite a bit of time.”

Ketal said as he walked leisurely.

If he wanted, he could complete the escort mission by the end of the day, but he had no intention of doing so.

He was in a good mood.

This was his first escort request.

Leaving the Barkan territory and heading to a distant kingdom.

What kind of people would be there?

What would they find there? Could he learn mysteries there?

While the Barkan territory was certainly excellent, its small size limited the amount of enjoyment it offered.

Now, he had the opportunity to see a broader world, which was exciting.

Of course, he was also looking forward to traveling with his escort targets.

He planned to take his time and enjoy this journey.

Ketal moved forward, and he heard footsteps following from a distance.

The sound never got any closer.

“Isn’t it dangerous? It would be better if you got a little closer.”

Ketal said, glancing back.

Elene and Aaron were keeping a significant distance from him, far too much to expect any effective escort.

However, Elene quickly shook her head.

“No, this distance is fine. There’s no sign of anyone else around, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Is that so?”

Although he didn’t understand, he didn’t argue further since that was what they wanted.

Night soon fell.

They had only traveled a few hours since they departed in the early evening, and now it was too dark to continue.

Ketal looked around and chose a spot to camp.

“We’ll spend the night here. Is that alright?”

“W-what?”

Elene stammered and took a step back, her hand instinctively reaching into her chest.

Ketal stroked his chin.

“Hmm.”

‘This misunderstanding might last for a while.’

But it didn’t matter much.

This was the medieval era, a world where trust between people was hard to build.

It was natural to fear others.

Their fear of barbarians seemed to be greater than he had anticipated.

Even if he told them he wasn’t a barbarian, they wouldn’t believe him, so there was no point in trying to persuade them.

In that case, the solution was simple.

He just needed to treat them well.

Building a trust relationship with the escort targets was also part of his duty as an escort.

“…It should be fine.”

“Good. Then let’s set up our sleeping arrangements.”

Ketal clapped his hands and reached into the small leather pouch at his waist.

Elene’s pupils dilated in surprise.

From the tiny pouch, large enough only for his hand, came an incredibly large piece of cloth.

“An artifact?”

“I was able to get it by working hard on my missions.”

Ketal said lightly, but Elene found it hard to accept so easily.

A spatial expansion artifact, from which such a large cloth emerged from such a small pouch.

The exact size was unclear, but it was certainly substantial.

Such a high-level artifact was not something even she, a princess, could easily acquire.

‘How could a barbarian have something like this?’

While Elene and Aaron were bewildered, Ketal quickly set up supports and draped the cloth over them, creating a small tent in no time.

“Here, this is your shelter.”

“Ah, thank you…”

Elene, not expecting him to make a tent for them, nodded with a bewildered look on her face.

“Unfortunately, due to budget constraints, I could only buy one tent. You’ll both have to share it. Is that alright?”

“It’s fine.”

They had already shared a room at the stables, so this was nothing new.

However, the tent was barely big enough for two people.

Elene cautiously asked,

“What about you, Ketal?”

“It doesn’t matter to me. I’m used to sleeping outside.”

He wasn’t lying.

In the snowy fields, it was often hard to find proper shelter.

Compared to sleeping in makeshift shelters dug out of glaciers, this environment was like paradise.

“Also, you don’t need to worry about keeping watch. I’ll handle it all.”

He once went a whole month without sleep while being chased by monsters in the Snowfield.

By now, sleep didn’t hold much meaning for Ketal.

His goal was to build trust with these people, so he planned to be considerate and kind.

“You can sleep soundly. That’s my job.”

Ketal smiled warmly, trying to appear as friendly as possible.

But Elene felt a chill run down her spine.

“N-no, it’s fine. There’s no need for you to take on everything yourself. We’ll take turns keeping watch.”

“It doesn’t matter to me.”

“It matters to us.”

Elene quickly responded.

He made them a tent, chose to sleep outside himself, and even offered to keep watch all night.

Ketal was overly kind—too kind for a simple escort mercenary.

This kindness only made them more suspicious.

‘He must be planning something while we’re asleep!’

Both Elene and Aaron had the same thought at the same time.

“Well, if that’s what you prefer.”

Ketal murmured regretfully.

He had hoped to build trust through this opportunity.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’

They had plenty of time.

He could take his time getting closer to them.

Ketal smiled gently.

Seeing that smile, Elene became even more convinced.

We mustn’t fall asleep.

Amidst their misguided thoughts, the night slowly passed.