Chapter 135

"Though His Grace collapsed from weakness, he's all better now. Very healthy indeed."

"Is that true?"

"I'm telling you it's true. Do you take me for a quack? If it's really bothering you, examine His Grace's body yourself. Turning a perfectly good physician into a quack in an instant."

While Verde was making these sarcastic remarks, a narrative appeared above his head.

[Verde decided that since things had come to this, he would move solely for his own interest.

But before that, he would have to keep his promise with this Duke.

Otherwise, he might be eaten himself.]

Verde tied the final knot on the bandage around his arm and snapped at Leandros.

Leandros, with an uncomfortable demeanor, said to him.

"If you feel any discomfort, you must tell me immediately."

"I'm fine now. I've recovered."

[Leandros suppressed his desire to mercilessly throw Verde out.

He couldn't understand how His Grace had come to trust such a person.

No, he did understand.

But wasn't it a mistake to bring such an unrefined person in the first place?]

He had truly recovered, as they said.

It was fortunate that he had the ability to come back to life after dying.

His body, which had been worse than a rag, felt completely new.

The creaking shoulder joints, the stinging, chafing skin that oozed fluid—all had healed cleanly.

As his body returned to its original state, his mood couldn't be better.

Of course, to avoid causing a commotion with Amelia and Leandros, he still pretended to be sick and remained wrapped in bandages.

But what did that matter?

"Can you stand?"

"I've eaten enormously since regaining consciousness, so I've got some strength. I'm completely fine now."

What had happened between Verde and him was to remain secret.

After his death, Verde hadn't just fallen into panic.

He had informed Leandros and Amelia, who had left the room, that he had suddenly fainted and that he would provide close treatment.

Then he had stayed with him until he revived.

Just considering his nerve and crisis response ability, he was quite a talented individual.

Of course, from Amelia and Leandros's perspective, it might be worrying to see him suddenly collapse and then devour a meal that could feed seven grown men.

"I'm not sure if it's all right for you to move so suddenly like this."

"Verde says it's fine."

"Do you really trust him?"

"I have to trust the person who treated me. And Verde is the only physician who knows my condition."

"Ha! Did you hear that? Are you trying to tattle to His Grace and become the narrow-minded man? Oh my, what should we do?"

"......"

[Leandros knew very well that he couldn't commit murder in front of His Grace.

He knew it well, but patience has its limits.]

While Verde was being snide, Amelia, who had gone out, returned to the room.

Above her head, a fading red number wavered.

[60/50]

"I g-got some shoes! I d-don't know if they'll f-fit, but I found the c-closest size."

[When Amelia stopped by a nearby leather merchant, she was told there were no shoes.

But the merchant was holding a freshly completed pair of shoes. When she asked, she was told they were for a customer who had ordered them first, so they couldn't be sold.

In the end, Amelia had to almost threaten the owner to take the shoes.

Of course, she paid well for them.]

Amelia, you tried too hard to get shoes.

By the way, my clothes and shoes had all been torn by the pig-humans and had to be thrown away.

While there were spare clothes, the situation with shoes wasn't the same.

Leandros put on the shoes Amelia had brought him, and he finally looked like a patient who could walk around.

"What are you planning to do by going out yourself? If you need anything, you can just tell me."

"I want to see with my own eyes. I can't just stay cooped up in the room and only hear about the situation."

And if Yurik had set up something in this village, it would be better if he could grasp the truth first.

The children might be shocked if they realized the secret entangled with this village.

We, now a group of four including Verde, left the inn.

The roads were well-maintained, and the ditches for sewage flowed without blockages.

It might have been his imagination, but the attire of passing people seemed especially neat and dignified.

Though not as luxurious as nobles, they were cleaner and more pristine than people he had seen in other regions.

The faces of the people overflowed with peace and pride, and they gathered in groups or haggled for goods in the stores.

Whether shops or goods, nothing looked old or broken.

The impression of the village could be summed up in one line.

"It's a nice village."

A nice village, clean, with no people trembling in fear due to crime or public safety issues.

Leandros murmured lowly.

"Glico was also a nice village. During the first day of our stay."

"That's true. Now that I think about it, Verde, weren't you here before us?"

"That's right. But I'm not a mercenary, I'm a physician belonging to a mercenary band, right? Would I have done the annoying task of wandering outside? Unless it was to procure animal corpses."

Verde vehemently expressed his exasperation with a "Huh."

He just nodded vaguely as he thought of something else.

If the mercenary band was here, perhaps he could use Verde as an excuse to approach another member of the mercenary band who had arrived earlier.

As they were passing through a small alley, someone darted out from a corner and rushed toward Leandros.

"Leandros!"

He raised his voice in surprise, but Leandros calmly said.

"It's someone I'm acquainted with. Don't worry."

A small child clinging to Leandros's thigh.

Somehow familiar, and it seemed like he had seen him once in this life too...

"Jonas! You rascal, I told you many times that your father can't run that fast- Aaah! Sir Knight!"

Max, still with his bushy beard in this life, emerged from the alley panting and then jumped in surprise.

Meeting everyone here.

He instinctively opened his mouth to greet him, but Max passed by him and approached Leandros urgently.

After forcefully detaching Jonas, Max hurriedly offered an explanation.

"Meeting you here is also a coincidence, Sir Knight. I thought you had left since you hadn't been seen at all recently. This Jonas, I don't know why he keeps clinging to you..."

"It's fine."

"Oh, but he's getting old enough now, he shouldn't be clinging to just anyone like this- Jonas! You rascal! What rudeness are you showing to the lady now!"

Jonas, forcibly detached from Leandros, was now hiding behind Amelia, only his head peeking out.

As Max seemed about to scold Jonas severely, Amelia stepped forward to intervene.

"D-don't do that. B-besides, I w-wanted to thank you for i-introducing Verde. H-how fortunate to m-meet you."

"Ah, is that so? I'm truly glad that fellow was helpful. His skill is good even if his mouth runs. Are you thinking of taking him away? Hahaha, though I suppose his terrible personality would make it difficult!"

"Max, are you perhaps blind? Can't you see I'm right here? If your eyes are unnecessary, donate them to me for research."

"I don't consider ill-mannered youngsters as people. Oh my, miss. By the way, who was injured that you asked for such a person to be introduced?"

"W-well, that..."

As Amelia looked at him, Max also turned his head in his direction.

Perhaps because his face was also wrapped in bandages to pretend he was injured, Max showed no recognition.

"Oh my. This person looks young but is quite injured. Was it for this patient that you were searching for a physician? I'm glad if this fellow was helpful!"

"W-well, this person is..."

"No. I was able to recover quickly thanks to Dr. Verde's good care. Are you the one who introduced him? Thank you."

When he spoke politely, Max again burst into a hahaha laugh.

"Oh my, what a polite young man. If you eat well and sleep well, you'll recover in no time! Yes, indeed."

"From your conversation just now, you're in the same mercenary band as Dr. Verde... right? Have you been in this city long?"

"Not that long. Why, are you curious about something? I do know some tasty taverns."

"The village is a bit complex, and I was wondering if you might know a route that allows for a comprehensive tour."

"Ah. So you want to sightsee the village."

Max picked up Jonas and held him, tilting his head from side to side.

"But, from what I've heard, almost all the buildings are in the center. If you go straight here, you'll circle the center."

"I heard the village is quite large."

"Ah, it is. Very large. You might not know, but there's a rumor that Gallo will be promoted to a city. But..."

"But what?"

Max spoke with an uncomfortable expression.

"I have no idea what's in the outskirts."

What does that mean?

Amelia, him, and Leandros all stared blankly at each other for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"Just what I said. You see, the roads are so complex that if you take a wrong turn in the alleys, you'll find yourself right back in the center."

"You tried to go to the outskirts, right?"

"I did, of course I did. I was just out with Jonas trying to figure out the structure of this village. I thought it would be a good hobby for Jonas. Ah yes, Jonas is my son. A cartographer."

"There's a cartographer, and you failed?"

"Yes. Take one wrong step, and you pop out in a completely different place. It's almost like a fortress."

[Max quite liked his own metaphor as he said this. A fortress, truly a fortress. Why couldn't one go outside?]

Max, deep in thought, muttered "Fortress, that's right. A complete fortress," and then said with an amiable face.

"Good to meet you, but my son and I should be going. Sir Knight, miss. It was delightful to meet you again. We'll be standing by in the city for a while to see if there are any requests for the mercenary band. If you need anything, please come to the same inn as before!"

After leaving with a cheerful farewell, Leandros watched Max and Jonas depart and casually asked.

"Do you plan to keep hiding your identity?"

"If possible. This level of distance seems just right. If we get too close carelessly, we might involve them."

Leandros looked as if he didn't understand.

Objectively, they were mercenaries, and unlike Verde, they could increase their fighting power by making a straightforward request.

But he didn't want to do that.

It was because he hadn't firmly rejected them that things had reached such a state in the north.

It was enough to confirm they were doing well under the pretext of making a map of the Dikenter Mountains.

Why get deeply entangled again?

We walked along the path as Max had indicated.

We passed by shops, streets where people's houses were clustered, small central squares where residents walked peacefully or children played.

We also passed the stone building Leandros had mentioned.

After walking for a long time, the place we finally arrived at was.

"...Really, it's here."

We had returned to the front of the inn where we were staying.

Even though we had only circled the center, it felt like we had seen the entire core of the village.

"This time, let's try going into that alley and making a big loop. We know the direction, so we just need to head outwards."

It wasn't as if the inside of the village was completely disconnected.

If they only guarded the path towards the center, they could surely head outwards.

Then they could also check if there was anything suspicious in the outskirts.

Together, they entered an alley in the back and tried to explore again.

Walking, walking, and more walking.

It was hard to guess how far they had walked, but somehow, a familiar scenery returned.

Verde mumbled from behind.

"Is my eyesight getting worse? Why does it feel like we're back in the same place? Is it time to change my glasses?"

"It's not your eyes. We really did come back here. As I remember, it seems we're not that far from the inn."

They had definitely entered an empty alley, but now there were people sporadically visible around them.

Looking back at the alley they had just come from, there was nothing there.

Just a gloomy shadow cast by buildings and walls.

Perhaps they had mistaken the direction.

The path was so complex that they might have entered some strange place.

They dived into alleys again and again.

But each time, they returned to the same place.

By the time the sun was setting, they sat down in front of a building, exhausted from wandering.

Almost all the residents had returned home, and only they remained on the streets.

"What's going on?"

"I-I don't know. W-we even b-brought a compass with u-us."

[Amelia doubted her own eyes.

Even though they had checked the direction with a compass, to return here.

Was there a problem with the person who made the compass, or was it her?]

The compass in Amelia's hand was still pointing in the same direction.

Why? Was something wrong? Had they overlooked something while they were confined to the inn?

Why couldn't they leave this area?

While Amelia and he put their heads together, with Verde sprawled out from exhaustion, Leandros raised his head and carefully examined the surroundings.

Then he spoke.

"Your Grace."

"What?"

"This time, let me try going."

"How? Won't you just come back here again?"

"I'll go a different way."

"A different way?"

Was there another way?

Leandros's hand slowly pointed to the sky.

The sunset sky was entirely crimson.

Leandros calmly replied.

"I'll try going up."