"Aileen!"
Only after I had more or less cleaned up the rear did the commotion coming from the windows finally reach my ears.
Aileen was going back and forth between the two windows by herself, blocking the goblins from getting in.
Since I was holding the entrance, the remaining ones had rushed toward the windows.
Slice!
"Kiek!"
Fortunately, the windows were small, so it was hard for a goblin to get through without twisting its body.
Thanks to that, Aileen wasn’t being pushed back easily either.
On top of that, since I’d already dealt with quite a few of them up front, Aileen managed to hold off the goblins at the windows safely.
"You all right?"
"Yes!"
Aileen was pressed tightly against the window with her small body, holding her ground.
Yeah, that much was more than enough.
The problem wasn’t over here.
"Urgh, get off!"
"Keeek!"
The commotion kept going on at the front of the carriage, near the horse.
The goblin’s shrieks overlapped with Sylan’s shouting.
"What, it’s still hanging on?"
When I leaned over, I saw Aileen struggling to maintain her stance.
Beyond her, Sylan was wrestling with a goblin on top of the horse, tangled up with it.
I’d wondered why he still hadn’t managed to shake it off, but it seemed the thing had fallen and then latched onto the horse’s belly.
Because of that, the horse panicked and twisted its body, blood spraying from its flank.
"······Seriously, this is driving me insane."
If the horse became unable to run, all of us would have to get down and walk.
I absolutely refused.
"Sylan! Shake that thing off! Even if you fall, we have to save the horse!"
"Shit— I know!!"
Rattle, rattle-rattle.
Because the horse was thrashing and had veered off the road, the carriage wheels ran over gravel and shook violently.
The impact threw off my balance, and the unstable vibration ran through my whole body.
Damn it, what do I do?
Just as I was wondering whether I should jump over from the carriage and help—
"To hell with it!"
Sylan started to move.
He tightened his thighs firmly around the saddle, then slowly leaned his body to the left.
His posture tilted more and more, until finally, the moment he was almost in a straight line with the horse,
the horse’s center of gravity shifted with him, and it leaned slightly to the left as well.
In that gap, the side of the horse’s belly where the goblin was clinging was fully exposed.
A fleeting instant.
This was my chance.
[Water Bomb]
I briefly drew up mana and aimed at the goblin hanging there.
A blue sphere formed at my fingertips and immediately shot out.
Whoooosh.
The carriage was still shaking, and the trajectory was slightly off.
Boom!
It wasn’t a direct hit, but the water bomb struck the goblin squarely in the middle of its spine.
"Kee-eeek!"
At the sharp pain spreading along its back, the thing had no choice but to pull out the hand it had dug into the horse’s flank.
And then, naturally, it lost its balance and was flung off the horse.
"Kueeek!"
The goblin rolled across the road and tumbled backward.
Thud, crash, crunch!
An impact jolted up as if the carriage had run over a speed bump, and the goblin was sent flying out of sight.
Then everything fell quiet.
After that one, no more commotion could be heard.
"Huu··· huu···."
The only sound coming from atop the horse was Sylan’s ragged breathing as he held on like some kind of trick rider.
That technique of leaning his body until he was almost in line with the horse.
Honestly, it surprised me a little.
···Was he from Mongolia or something?
Well, that was that.
That wasn’t what mattered right now.
"Is the horse okay?"
"Huu··· hu— Pardon? You don’t see the state I’m in? You’re worried about the horse—"
This bastard still hadn’t come to his senses.
To begin with, I hadn’t liked the fact that he’d caused such a fuss because he couldn’t even shake off one goblin properly.
Well, it wasn’t like he had any real way to deal with it alone.
But that wasn’t my problem.
Just as I seriously considered smacking him once,
Sylan must have read my eyes, because he hurriedly changed his attitude.
"First, let’s get somewhere safe and check its condition!"
"Yeah···"
Only after we left the forest road and entered a plain where we could see clearly around us were we able to check the horse’s condition.
"Hiss··· This isn’t good."
"Why, does it look like it’s about to die?"
"No, not that··· But if it runs for the rest of today, it’ll be stuck in a stable for quite a while."
That was actually good news for us.
It was a horse we were only going to ride today and never again anyway.
Sylan seemed to feel bad for his horse, and with a gloomy face he was carefully stroking its mane, but··· well, that was his problem.
"When will the treatment be done?"
"···For now, I’ll wrap it roughly with herbs and bandages, then we’ll set off right away."
"Yeah. Make it quick."
While Sylan wrapped the bandages, I leaned back against the carriage and caught my breath.
Beside me, Aileen was wiping her bloodstained sword with a cloth while glancing at me now and then.
Thinking she might have something to say, I turned my head.
"What, do you have something to say?"
"Ah, no··· Um, well··· Am I being of any help?"
"Ah···"
So that was what she’d been worrying about.
Compared to before, her spirit had softened a lot, but this time, it seemed she felt like she’d accomplished something.
From her tone and the look in her eyes, she seemed to want at least a small bit of praise.
Like a puppy asking to have its head patted.
"You did well."
Of course, I didn’t do anything like pat her head.
I simply said it briefly, dryly, like usual.
To be honest, even saying that felt a little awkward to me.
I felt like adding anything more might ruin the mood, so I ended it with that one sentence.
I wondered if she might feel it wasn’t enough.
But Aileen actually nodded with a satisfied look and quietly focused on maintaining her sword again.
Mm, if she was satisfied, then that was fine.
"With what Liv told us last time too, goblins seem to be showing up pretty often."
"Yeah. Something might be happening."
Aileen muttered with a slight frown.
"Of all times, at a time like this··· No, maybe this is for the better."
"Yeah···?"
"Yes. This way, other people won’t have the leisure to pay attention to us, right?"
"Hm, I suppose that’s true."
Even if someone tried to keep us in check or attack us, if something else happened, their priorities would inevitably be pushed back.
True, the more chaotic things were, the easier it was to hide yourself.
Maybe the reason nothing much had happened so far was because of that.
Whatever the case, for us, who were powerless right now, it was a good thing.
"It’s done! Get on!"
Just then, Sylan, having finished the repairs, climbed onto the horse and shouted.
"Set off."
"Yes."
Facing the wind that blew once again, the carriage slowly began to move.
***
Rattle, rattle.
After the brief disturbance ended, we were able to make it to our destination without anything else happening.
So things don’t just keep happening one after another after all.
"Are we almost there?"
"It should be just a little farther."
There was a strange certainty in Sylan’s voice.
Despite how he looked, that guy had quite a few hidden talents.
Asking him various things out of boredom, I could tell he’d rolled around as a mercenary for a fairly long time. He knew a lot too.
"So, what you’re saying is you ran away because you wanted to try being a mercenary with your hometown friends?"
"Yes··· It was something like a mercenary company we made by gathering our hometown friends."
"What kind of mercenary company is that, man?"
No wonder.
I should’ve thought something was strange from the moment I first heard it.
No matter how stupid a mercenary was, they should at least know how to protect their own life.
And yet they’d all been wiped out.
In the end, it had just been some mediocre club made by a bunch of nobodies.
"And I heard a rumor."
"A rumor···? What rumor?"
"That mercenaries could make big money just by going to war!"
War, huh··· It probably wasn’t wrong.
The only problem was that the chances of their heads getting lopped off before that money ever reached their hands were higher.
It seemed there were plenty of kids here too who dreamed foolish dreams about war.
A kind of romance closer to dying gloriously than thinking about coming back alive.
I’d never experienced war, but at the very least, it was far removed from the world I knew.
"Then why didn’t you go straight to the battlefield? Why were you rolling around here?"
"We were just guys who didn’t want to work and ran away, so we had nothing. We had no equipment either, so we couldn’t go to the battlefield···."
"So you made a mercenary company with your friends?"
"Yes. Thinking about it now, we were immature. In the end, everyone died and only I survived."
Sylan smiled bitterly as he pulled on the horse’s reins.
That smile looked more bitter than I expected, so I didn’t feel like saying anything more.
"Do you still want to go to war?"
"······Yes. I’m definitely going to succeed for my friends’ share too and return to my hometown."
I felt something like a heavy resolve, different from the chill of dawn.
It seemed he had realized something in his own way.
"If you’re going east, look for Captain Baret of the mercenary company."
"Pardon?"
"If you give him my name, it’s not certain, but he should help you in his own way."
"Th-thank you!"
Honestly, I didn’t know if he would help either.
Still, wouldn’t it be much better than going with nothing?
"But you’re not going right away, are you?"
"Right··· I should look for people again and earn some money too."
"Yeah, do your best."
We hadn’t met through good circumstances, but there was no reason to part on bad terms—
"Could you take me with you too?"
A scene I’d seen plenty of times before started again.
Sylan looked at me with desperate eyes.
"Hoo··· Why should I take you with me?"
"I can do a lot of things. I can drive horses, shoot a bow, and, um··· I know a bit about herbs too. Ah, and I can use a sword—"
Perhaps because he was truly desperate, he rattled off his strengths.
He certainly seemed able to do a lot, but that wasn’t the important thing.
"···Enough. That’s not what I’m asking."
"Yes?"
"If I’m in danger, can you jump in?"
At my question, Sylan was speechless for a moment and lowered his head.
Whether he was naïve or simply short-sighted.
Anyway, I’d expected as much.
"It’s not just following along. If we travel together, responsibility comes with it."
"···Then I’ll take care of my own food and sleep. I won’t be a burden. Absolutely!"
Maybe because he couldn’t lie, he couldn’t give a clear answer to my question.
But he hadn’t given up either, and those desperate eyes were still boring into me.
"···Follow if you want."
"Really?!"
Seeing him practically jump for joy, it seemed he’d expected to be refused.
I slightly turned my head away while still on the horse and added,
"But if you mess up, I’ll abandon you immediately."
"Yes! I absolutely won’t be a nuisance!"
Good grief.
"Oh, and for reference, request payments are split nine to one."
"Pardon!? What do you mean—"
"You don’t like it?"
"Eek! No, no. I’ll follow you."
Sylan put on an awkward smile.
That expression was funny, and somehow reassuring, so a small laugh slipped out of me.
I leaned back against the carriage again.
It wasn’t like one more person would change anything.
Still, maybe it was reassuring.
Considering the battles that might happen in the future, it wasn’t bad.
***
"Once we cross that hill, that’s Mondark, right?"
"Yes. Once you get to the city, will you look for lodging first?"
"Hm, I suppose we should."
"I want to lie down on a bed soon."
Exchanging small talk, the carriage headed toward the hill.
Finally, once we crossed the hill and our view opened up, Mondark’s massive fortress appeared in the distance.
But.
"···Huh?"
"What the—"
It was flames.
Black smoke rising above the outer walls of the fortress, red flames spreading, structures collapsed in ruins.
That was definitely the city I knew, but now··· it looked like a battlefield.
Once we got somewhat closer, the devastation came into even clearer view.
The fortress was cracked here and there like a collapsed embankment, and on one side of the wall, a hole large enough for four carriages to pass through easily had been punched open.
Centered around that breach, armored soldiers stood guard with fierce expressions, and behind them, people who looked like construction workers were busily moving stones.
On the outskirts of the city stood a temporary tent village crowded with people in shabby clothes.
Faces blackened by soot, children silently watching boiling pots, old people staring blankly up at the sky.
This place··· was no longer the Mondark I knew.
"Brother, what do we do? Is it all right to go in?"
"Why am I your brother? ···Let’s go for now."
We had come too far to turn back now.
Our food had run out too, and we needed supplies.
Fortunately, it looked like a lull right after battle.
As we slowly drove the carriage toward the gate, the soldiers’ gazes pierced us sharply.
Their eyes were full of wariness. Anyone could tell this wasn’t an atmosphere where they’d let us in easily.
When we reached the front of the gate, the person who looked the most imposing among the soldiers stepped forward with the clanking of armor.
"Stop! Who are you!"
At the booming shout, Sylan hunched his shoulders and hurriedly shouted back.
"W-we’re mercenaries!"
At his frightened voice, I almost let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.
But judging by the atmosphere, this wasn’t a situation to laugh.
"Mercenaries?"
"They say they’re mercenaries?"
Murmurs spread among the soldiers who heard us.
After they whispered among themselves for a moment as if confirming something, the soldier who had shouted earlier slowly walked forward again.
I didn’t know his exact rank, but he looked about equivalent to a noncommissioned officer.
The soldier looked at my face for a moment, then muttered quietly.
"You’re the mercenaries who left a while ago."
Seeing his face up close, I vaguely remembered him too.
Ah, right.
When the Watcher stepped in and helped us, he was the soldier who had stopped us in front of the checkpoint.
"What have you returned for?"
"We have a request we received in the city, so we came to collect the payment."
I stepped forward in place of the frozen Sylan.
"A request? ···Hm, I see. Let them in!"
"Yes, sir!"
‘Huh? What’s this?’
It was unexpected.
I thought they’d question us more or suspect us.
Unlike back then, this time they let us pass without a word.
And so, in a slightly uneasy atmosphere, we were able to enter the fortress.