82. back east (2) (edited…sorry…)

When the owner of the caravan finished his errands and reached his carriage, he could find a strange, nervous atmosphere permeating the carriage.

“What is this… .”

A middle-aged merchant, Phil saw the coachman. An adventurer froze, clutching the reins of his horses until his fists turned white. Seeing the frozen figure of an adventurer who would not listen to his own words even if he looked at him, a strange yet fearful feeling came over Phil’s head.

“What’s going on?”

At Phil’s question, the trembling adventurer pointed to the back seat with a wink. The interior of the caravan was filled with piles of crates, making it difficult to see.

“Anything with our wagon?”

Merchant Phil muttered that and poked his head toward the caravan. The huge bald adventurer, who took up half the space in the dark wagon, turned his head toward Phil.

“Ugh!”

Phil freaked out and stamped his butt onto the coachman’s seat. The crates of the wagon piled up in the caravan collapsed as Phil fell and strained his arms.

“Are you okay?”

Phil stepped backwards, placing his hands on the ground as he watched Pierre thrust his upper body toward him. Then, when the light revealed Pierre’s face, he sighed in relief.

“No, I was surprised. I feel like I’ve lost 10 years of my lifespan. You must be in command of all the adventurers participating in this transfer… .”

“Yeah. This is Pierre Fabien.”

Phil grabbed Pierre’s outstretched hand and stood up. After shaking off the dust from his buttocks, Phil was able to spot the hated adventurer sitting across from Pierre.

“Who is that person?”

“I am an adventurer as well.”

“That… Pierre, are you going to accompany me in this carriage?”

Pierre nodded. Looking at Pierre like that, Phil muttered, frowning as if it were strange.

“There is no need for three adventurers to ride in one wagon… .”

“What did you say?”

“No, no. anything.”

What do you think is so complicated? He should just be happy that an outstanding adventurer named Pierre escorts his carriage.

Phil erased his worries from his mind and began to build up the boxes he had destroyed. Pierre returns to his place and confronts the hooded adventurer. Phil decided to ignore the nasty atmosphere they were emitting little by little.

“under!”

“Hey!”

The coachmen raised their voices vigorously and started the wagon. The procession began to advance slowly and at a slow pace, just as a waterwheel began to creak little by little.

“There, please keep it carefully so that it doesn’t fall.”

“Don’t worry. I know how to hold on to it.”

You can also hear the light squabbling of merchants and adventurers.

In the midst of a daily yet subtle tension, Maxim’s caravan, which was positioned in the middle of the procession, finally started with a rattle. I was leaning comfortably against a pile of properly stacked boxes, but it was suffocating to be sharing a space with that huge, bald head.

“… .”

“… .”

The two were speechless. The sight of Pierre staring intently at Maxim, and Maxim pretending not to notice, had continued for an hour since their departure.

“you… .”

Pierre finally spoke.

“Who are you?”

Maxim did not answer. All I could do was hope that the bald adventurer would get exhausted and pass out. As he was once an instructor who taught himself, he knew very well that if he showed any gaps, he would be suspicious.

“What are you following here for?”

However, that former instructor was much more persistent than Maxim thought. It seemed that he did not know how to give up, and intended to keep talking until Maxim spoke.

He didn’t even come close to the campfire he had set up for camping. Maxim volunteered for the middle of the vigil and fell asleep much earlier than the other adventurers.

“Hey, are you there?”

Maxim woke up to the sound of rustling near the caravan and stood up with his hood on. It seemed that his turn to watch had come.

“That… vigil.”

Maxim nodded, saying he knew, and stood up. My drowsy mind had already been cleared when I felt the presence of people approaching the caravan. The adventurer who woke up Maxim breathed a sigh of relief and quickly walked away from the caravan.

Long time no watch

Maxim slowly woke up. I moved my body and checked the movement of my muscles. From the shoulder to the tips of the fingers. from waist to toe.

“done.”

Maxim, ready for battle, walked slowly, using the bright red spot as a signpost. The forest was noisy with the cries of grass insects in late autumn and the squawking of owls. It was a very good sign that the forest was noisy at midnight.

With bated breath, Maxim thought of the forest near the no-man’s-land, which surrounded the people with prey-like silence.

“You woke up.”

Maxim, who was going to wake up in a good mood, sat in front of a bonfire and saw a familiar face that greeted him as if he had been waiting for him, and started swearing softly.

“It’s not the first or the last, it’s the middle. I guess you didn’t like to talk to other people.”

If you knew that well, why didn’t you think of just leaving it alone? Since I couldn’t show my face, I couldn’t openly show my dislike, so I thought it might be that she was talking to Maxim more freely.

It wasn’t to overlook the broad personality of that bald instructor.

Maxim decided not to react and sat down.

“Sorry for continuing to bother you.”

Talking like that now is tantamount to being a nuisance. Since it doesn’t work even if you take a hard line, are you trying to appease them gently? Maxim thought that sincerity was commendable.

“Because I, too, have many things to take care of as the body leading the adventurers gathered here.”

Pierre, who was complaining, turned his head to and fro, relaxing his sore neck joints. Suddenly, I wondered how this person had quit his job as an instructor and became an adventurer.

The appearance of an instructor who was guiding candidates more enthusiastically than anyone else. The terrifying appearance of overwhelming the candidates with overwhelming strength contrasted with the deepened eyes and aging face of the present.

Maxim slumped down to a distance where the flames would not reveal his face. The longsword at the waist trembled and hit the ground.

“Shouldn’t at least the limbs of the adventurers who came along to make money come back intact?”

It seemed that the sense of responsibility that had the appearance of being an outcast was still the same.

“That means you don’t trust me.”

Maxim opened his mouth. Hearing the voice for the first time, Pierre’s face changed to a puzzled expression as if he had been hit in the back of the head.

“uh… Were you able to speak?”

The answer that came back like that must have been stupid even for Pierre himself, so he quickly cleared his throat and collected the words.

“No, yes. I don’t know your name or face, so how can you build basic trust as a human being?”

“If you don’t trust me, it’s enough.”

As if Maxim’s answer was unexpected, Pierre frowned even more.

“You’re so damn good at answering. Not cheap.”

Curiously, the words he grumbled in his face didn’t feel like he was particularly arguing.

“done. No matter what your goals are, at least I knew you weren’t here to ruin this mission. Didn’t the branch manager put you on this mission?”

Maxim was neither positive nor negative. It’s just that he couldn’t understand Pierre who kept following him even though he clearly knew that.

“I was just trying to tease you and see if you were moving for some purpose, but you strangely didn’t move. I don’t know if it’s because I’m still attached. I could have fooled my eyes and tried to move in between, but I didn’t.”

What was the guild branch manager thinking? Pierre spat.

“Perhaps there is some great business at the destination. From there, it’s none of my business.”

Maxim was still silent.

“… You were a knight.”

At Maxim’s words, Pierre snorted.

“When ever talk. The branch manager is talking softly for no reason.”

Why he became an adventurer and ended up in this situation, Pierre did not explain in detail.

“There are things that no one can do. In my case, it was just cut off.”

Couldn’t hear more than that. It’s because if you want to hear more, you’ve been threatening to take off the hood and talk.

cut off

That would mean that the reason for that bald instructor’s resignation was not his will. Did you try your hand at Beninga?

Maxim’s thoughts were interrupted by Pierre’s words.

“yes. I know you’re not the one I should be concerned about right now. To successfully complete this mission… .”

Pierre’s voice lowered.

“It’s about catching the rats that sneak in here.”

a rat?

Maxim bowed his head at the same time.

“… this mission. The branch manager didn’t seem to notice, but strange people came in. Since you are the person the branch manager put in, I thought it would be helpful if I told you this.”

If I had known that, I should have bothered you while I was gone.

Maxim held back the urge to shoot him.

“What if they are weird?”

“A few of them were rolling their eyes in a strange way. Those who received this mission after becoming adventurers for less than three months.”

Perhaps realizing that Maxim was willing to listen, Pierre began to speak with his eyes shining.

“There are about five of them.”

“What are you suspecting?”

“I don’t know if he’s pretending not to know, or if he’s just asking for my opinion.”

Pierre frowned.

“Is there anything else besides sending a watcher from Benning?”

—

“Are you sure about that ‘nameless adventurer’s journey’?”

Leon Benning was talking to a servant. The servant was reading the letter he had received from the adventurer.

“Yes. It is said that it was included in the supply line heading to no man’s land this time.”

“Who are the ones you put in beforehand?”

“Five were included, and the other five failed to participate. As instructed beforehand, they would have started monitoring the size of the mission and the adventurers involved.”

“yes. There have to be guys who get caught. Are you monitoring that nameless adventurer?”

The servant’s expression darkened. Leon Benning continued to feel uncomfortable with things not going as planned. everything was good However, the lack of work continued to touch the planting.

“sorry. It is said that the person in charge of commanding the adventurers was always attached to the adventurer, so they couldn’t keep an eye on it properly. It’s fine if he alone notices our surveillance, but if the other adventurers also notice strange movements, the plan will be greatly disrupted… .”

Leon Benning took a long breath, then exhaled. There was a rare irritation in those two eyes.

“… Yes, I mean.”

Across from Leon Benning, Emile Bordain was sitting as if on a cushion of thorns.

“Tsk. You openly participated in the ranks so that you could not use your hands recklessly.”

I couldn’t even confirm that the nameless adventurer was Maxim Appart, and I couldn’t even identify his face.

“Yes, Emile. What do you think of this situation?”

Leon Benning was pointing out the incident of sending Marion Bordain. Emile Bordain’s face was bleached white and trembling trembled under the pressure of Leon Benning, who was unknowingly clamping down on him.

“… it’ll be fine anyway It’s just a matter of bringing it back from there this time.”

Leon Benning’s eyes deepened.

“In addition, I need to keep an eye on things that are out of reach in the periphery.”

It was as if the faces of Count Agon and the Marquis were being drawn before his eyes.