The man who approached had a rather neat impression.
A slightly round face, hair tidily arranged over his forehead.
In a remote village like this, he was the sort of person one rarely saw—someone who somehow carried the scent of the city.
He wore a well-kept coat without a speck of dust on it, and in his hand he held a pair of leather gloves that had not yet dried.
Rather than a merchant covered in dust from the road, he looked more like an honored guest who had just stepped down from a carriage.
“Yes? What is it?”
When I asked in confusion, he cautiously looked around before speaking in a low voice.
“By any chance… are you planning to stay in this village for long?”
“No, I’m thinking of leaving first thing tomorrow morning.”
He let out a short breath, as if relieved.
“That’s fortunate. The truth is… our party also intends to cross the border tomorrow.”
He paused for a moment, choosing his words, then continued in a lower voice.
“By any chance… could I ask you to accompany us, even if only for a short while?”
“Accompany you?”
Sairun and Baldik, who had been listening, also raised their heads.
The man gave a slight nod and continued.
“If that is too much, even just until we’re outside the village would be fine. The atmosphere in this village has been rather unsettling lately. But if we are with armed individuals, I believe we may be able to avoid danger.”
At those words, Baldik glanced at me.
“Wouldn’t it be better for us to go by ourselves?”
“…Let’s hear him out a little more first.”
I looked back at the man and asked.
“How far are you going?”
He answered with a brief smile.
“Beyond the border, to Erdin’s first city, Nebren.”
Hearing that, Sairun muttered quietly.
“Huh, that’s the same direction as us…”
I leaned back slightly and asked one last thing.
“And the payment?”
Without hesitation, he took out a small copper-colored pouch from his breast.
Inside were several silver coins, neatly placed.
I looked at Sairun and Baldik.
Sairun subtly leaned in and whispered.
“Looks like three or four silver coins? That’s a pretty decent price.”
“I thought he was just some wandering merchant, but he seems surprisingly well-off.”
Baldik also crossed his arms and nodded.
“We’re headed the same way, and he says he’ll pay us too. I don’t see much reason to refuse.”
But I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.
“Still… doesn’t something feel strange? He doesn’t even know who we are, so what is he trusting us for, asking to go together?”
“True. It’s not like we’re famous mercenaries or anything, and our equipment doesn’t look all that great either, does it?”
In fact, I’d been able to maintain my equipment thanks to a few commissions, but Baldik and Sairun were still more or less in civilian gear.
The fact that he was insisting on paying us to accompany him meant he had some kind of ulterior motive.
“Don’t you think that man knows something about the border? Would he act like that for no reason?”
Sairun muttered cautiously.
“Still, a proposal to travel together at this timing is honestly a little suspicious.”
“But if we refuse for no reason, it might become even more troublesome. It’d be better for us to keep him under our control before he latches on completely.”
It seemed clear that our route was the same, and if he had a real objective, there was a high chance he’d follow us somehow even if we refused.
It would probably be better to accept now and keep watch over him.
After briefly sorting out my thoughts, I nodded.
“Fine. Let’s accept. But if we see anything suspicious, we’ll split off immediately.”
“Yes, Captain. Leave the surveillance to me.”
Sairun said with a playful salute.
Baldik silently raised one eyebrow and nodded.
I got up from my seat again and approached the man, who had been glancing at our side the whole time.
“Very well. Let’s go together.”
“Truly?”
“In exchange, we have a condition as well.”
The man’s eyes wavered slightly.
I continued.
“If you know anything about the situation around the border, you must tell us everything, without hiding a single thing.”
This condition was something of a final gambit.
If he couldn’t give a clear answer here and now, there was no reason to travel together.
Risking our lives for a few silver coins would be an incredibly stupid thing to do.
The man hesitated for a moment, then nodded and carefully opened his mouth.
“The truth is… I heard rumors that the atmosphere near the border has been unusual lately. Monsters have been sighted often, and there are even stories of people going missing while traveling.”
“That’s always the case, isn’t it?”
Sairun replied indifferently, but the man lightly shook his head.
“They say it’s a little different from before. In some areas, there are even stories of entire villages disappearing after monsters suddenly appeared.”
I muttered inwardly.
I quietly furrowed my brows.
“…Don’t tell me it’s because of the demon stones?”
The possibility flashed through my mind.
On the surface, it might look like rumors and monster appearances, but in reality, it could be mutations caused by demon stones.
If so, someone higher up than us might have already noticed it.
The tightening of border inspections was likely one form of response to that in the end.
“And the border inspections are becoming stricter as well. From what I hear, it may be because they suspect suspicious people are entering from outside.”
“Suspicious people?”
“I don’t know the details. Just… there are stories that they’re religiously dangerous individuals. There are also rumors that nobles are involved.”
The man finished speaking with an expression that was half sincere, half anxious.
“In any case, I judged that moving alone in this current atmosphere would be far too dangerous. At the very least, if I’m with armed mercenaries, we should be able to respond no matter what happens on the road.”
His words did make some sense, but there was still something unpleasant about it.
If he had heard such dangerous rumors beforehand, shouldn’t he have hired mercenaries before coming to this village?
I naturally shifted my gaze toward his party.
At that table sat one man, but he didn’t look like a merchant.
He wasn’t armed, nor did he look exhausted. He was leisurely drinking without any particular wary look in his eyes.
“By the way.”
I set my cup down on the table with a light thud and asked.
“If you’d heard stories like that, wouldn’t it have been safer to hire mercenaries before coming to this village in the first place?”
The man seemed slightly flustered, but quickly smiled and replied.
“You are quite right. In fact, that was the plan… but nearly everyone refused.”
“Refused?”
“Yes. Ever since the monster rumors spread, most outside mercenaries have been reluctant to accept requests near the border. In particular, they avoid traveling with anyone who hasn’t clearly revealed their identity.”
“Then what about us?”
“…To be honest, I thought meeting you here by chance itself was an opportunity.”
I could understand that.
We weren’t formally affiliated with anyone, and no matter how one looked at us, we were wandering mercenaries.
There were three of us too, so we must have seemed like suitable companions.
“Ah, and the person who came with me is my servant. He has plenty of travel experience, but he can’t fight at all.”
He naturally turned back and gestured toward his companion.
The servant was still turning his cup with an expressionless face.
Even without being told, that person seemed to double as some sort of fighter or bodyguard.
“…What kind of servant looks that relaxed?”
I nodded and reached my conclusion.
“Very well. I understand what you’re saying. The condition is as I said earlier. Whatever information you’ve heard, don’t hide it. Tell us everything.”
“Yes. I’ll tell you everything I know. I don’t want to be needlessly misunderstood either.”
We didn’t go so far as to shake hands, but an implicit contract had been formed.
The man bowed politely and returned to his seat.
“…He’s definitely suspicious.”
Sairun muttered.
“But we should use what we can. Especially if our destination is the same anyway.”
I quietly lifted my cup.
Before drinking, I saw the man’s silhouette blur faintly beyond the liquid shimmering inside the cup.
“Just who the hell is he?”
***
Shwaaaaa—
At dawn that day, I woke to the sound of rain striking the ceiling.
I’d seen dark clouds gathering in the sky yesterday evening, but it seemed the rain had finally come pouring down.
“If it’s like this, the ground will be a muddy mess when we leave tomorrow…”
Just as worry began to creep in, I heard someone stirring beside me.
“Mmnn…”
It was Sairun.
Normally, he was the sort who wouldn’t wake even if a bomb went off, but this time he seemed to have reacted to the sound of rain.
He pulled the blanket up to his neck and went quiet again.
I carefully raised myself and walked over to the window.
The world beyond the window was still sunk in darkness, and whenever faint lightning flashed, the old roof opposite the inn was dimly revealed.
Damp, heavy air seeped in through the gaps, making even the inside of my chest feel clammy.
“Please don’t last long.”
Rain wasn’t just inconvenient weather. For travelers, it was a clear obstacle.
Especially for us, who had to ride a carriage all the way beyond the border.
If a wheel got stuck in the mud, the hardship would go without saying.
“Sss… Huuu.”
After drawing in a long breath, I slowly exhaled.
But strangely, I didn’t feel bad.
Even though I’d awakened at dawn to the sound of rain, I felt oddly calm.
It should have felt wet and clammy, but instead, I felt refreshed.
“Is it because rain is water too?”
It was a sensation I’d felt before.
That feeling of something cool settling over me whenever I went near a riverside.
This feeling, as though the inside of my body was being calmly put in order.
“…I guess it really is because I’m a water mage.”
It felt strange that I could feel at ease merely because I was somewhere with water, even without using any great power.
I couldn’t tell whether this was just a simple illusion or actual resonance with the water attribute.
But at least for now, I liked this quiet dawn and the sound of the rain.
As I was soaked in that dawn sentiment, soothing my dampened heart—
Amid the sound of rain, I heard a small, sharp noise.
“What was that?”
At first, I thought the sound of rain striking the roof had simply grown unusually loud.
But soon I realized it wasn’t merely a sound of nature.
“…A scream?”
It was a long, drawn-out scream that pierced the ears like a high-pitched frequency.
It was definitely a human voice.
Not far away, someone was screaming.
Had someone been trapped inside a house filling with water? Or…
“Kyaaaaa!”
Sleep vanished completely.
Raising myself, I quickly moved to the window.
Because of the heavy rain, the old hinges rattled noisily.
When I reached out and carefully pushed the window open—
Shwaaaaa—
Rain came pouring in like a downpour.
The wind drove muddy rain into my face, and my vision was obscured as if by a pale gray curtain.
“Where…?”
It was difficult to see even a few steps ahead.
I pricked up my ears again and focused on the sound, but—
Tap, tatatap.
All I could hear was the continuous sound of rain striking roofs and the ground.
That sharp scream I’d heard at first never came again.
“Was I imagining it?”
But something in a corner of my mind felt uneasy.
For it to be a mere illusion, a definite chill had run down my spine at that moment.
Whether it had been the wind brushing past, or something truly passing by—
There was a strange itch beneath my ear.
An unpleasant aftertaste remained, stickier than the rain.
Forcing myself to shake off the discomfort, I slowly closed the window.
Clack. The old latch shook in the wind and creaked once more.
“It must be my imagination.”
Something about it didn’t sit right, but making a bigger deal of the situation because I’d scared myself would only be more exhausting.
Just as I pulled back the blanket again and was about to lie down on the bed—
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
A heavy, rapid pounding at the door rang through the room.
It wasn’t an ordinary knock.
Each strike carried desperation and urgency.
As I listened to the continued knocking, a familiar voice soon flowed in from beyond the door.
“Are you there? You need to come out quickly!”
It was the merchant who had asked us to accompany him this evening.
His breathing was rough, and unmistakable tension clung to the ends of his words.
A chill seeped in through the crack in the door.
Since we hadn’t even properly exchanged names, there was no way he had come looking for us at this hour for no reason.
And he certainly wasn’t here to suggest we have a drink while admiring the rainy night.
“What’s going on?”
As the pounding continued, Baldik and Sairun, who had been stirring in the next room, also woke up.
Sairun rubbed his head and muttered.
“What… what’s all this noise…?”
I drew in a short breath and slowly moved toward the door.
Clearly, this was not an atmosphere I could simply ignore.