Chapter 11
Berok kept coming out nonstop, as if I were some famous restaurant.
Because a snowstorm was raging, we couldn’t properly move around Derilf today, so we only made plans. After dinner, we went out to hunt Berok. Strangely enough, the snowstorm stopped, and when we arrived at an empty clearing, Calyx spoke.
“We cleared this place yesterday, so there shouldn’t be many Berok left. It won’t even take five minutes to deal with the remnants.”
Saying that, Calyx and the soldiers tried to leave. Startled, I shouted at him.
“Are you saying I have to get rid of the Berok here alone?”
“You’ll be fine by yourself. If you have the ability.”
After hearing that, I couldn’t even ask him to fight together. How could I swallow my pride and say, Isn’t it too much to do this alone?
In the end, I dealt with the Berok by myself…
“Ah, damn it. Stop coming out already!”
Even as they were cut by my sword, Berok kept rushing at me from who knows where.
Thud, clang, squeal, slash, growl, gagk!
The sounds of steel and Berok screams rose and fell like a rhythm. My hands trembled as they kept charging at me, but I forced myself to focus.
That damn scammer bastard.
Thinking only that, I swung my sword. My hands were filled with rage, and my mind was ruled by instinct.
How many minutes had I been swinging my blade? I threw off the leather clothes I had been wearing. Around me, Berok were piled so high it was hard to even move.
I stepped back with a grim expression.
When did I kill this many?
I was almost afraid of myself. With a trembling heart, I looked around. No more Berok were charging at me. Only deep silence remained.
I let out a deep breath, stabbed my sword into the ground, and slumped down. Then I wrapped myself in the cloak Calyx had given me and stared blankly ahead. When Calyx left, Herkel had promised—
“After you finish dealing with everything, please rest. We’ll come back here.”
I sniffed and kept looking ahead. Along with the howling wind, I heard wolves crying in the distance. Tensing up, I grabbed my sword and hurriedly looked around. Then, far away, I saw a light.
I jumped up at once. I had never been so glad to see people.
Soon, Calyx and the soldiers came into view.
I’m saved.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, my body relaxed. Herkel and the soldiers couldn’t hide their shock as they looked at the pile of Berok corpses.
“Look closely. Even if all of you rushed in together, you couldn’t kill this many.”
“Wow, that’s right. As expected of a famous mercenary from Rollend.”
Herkel and several soldiers looked at me with admiration. I smiled awkwardly and sheathed my sword. At that moment, something big suddenly rushed toward me.
“Ahh!”
I stepped back and looked at what was coming. Judging by the size, it was a wolf. But strangely, it looked gentle. Almost like a dog.
“Is this your first time seeing a wolfdog?”
When I turned my head, Calyx was standing there with his arms crossed.
“Yes. You don’t really see them in Rollend.”
I spoke stiffly, trying to act fine. It was pointless pride. Then Calyx gestured with his hand.
“Vodka, come here.”
Vodka ignored the person calling him and came straight to me instead. He flattened his ears and wagged his tail lightly, then flopped down and showed me his belly.
“That means he wants you to pet him. It’s a sign of submission.”
Calyx said from the side. Since he was showing his belly like that, I felt awkward just standing there, so I carefully petted him. At least, he didn’t look like he was about to attack.
Long fur brushed between my fingers. It was softer than I expected. Before I knew it, I kept petting him.
At some point, Calyx was nowhere to be seen. Nearby, the soldiers were making a fire and preparing food. As the flames flared up, the smell of roasting meat spread. The smell made me hungry.
I asked a soldier grilling meat next to me.
“What kind of meat is that?”
“It’s snow rat.”
“…What?”
When I looked at him in surprise, the soldier stared back at me like I was the strange one.
“You’ve never heard of snow rat?”
“No.”
Of course I hadn’t. I had never even thought about eating rats.
“No, how do you even eat rats?”
Then Herkel walked over and said,
“It’s tastier than you think. It’s fatty, so the meat is soft too.”
As he said that, Herkel shouted to Calyx.
“Duke! The meat is ready!”
Calyx was standing by the Berok corpses I had killed, together with a soldier. The two of them looked serious as they talked. They were too far away for me to hear.
“Duke!”
Herkel called again. Only then did Calyx turn around. He came over with the soldier to where the fire was burning.
Strangely, the seat next to me was empty. None of the soldiers had sat there. Calyx glanced at it with slight displeasure, then sat down.
The moment he sat, I felt a strange presence. For no reason, I shifted aside and stared only at the red-burning fire.
Then Herkel came over holding a grilled rat. Its leg shape and claws were still clearly visible, making my face twist.
At the same time, Vodka tapped my hand lightly with his paw. When I only stared and didn’t pet him, Vodka tapped my hand again.
Ah, he wants me to pet him.
I petted Vodka’s belly again. Vodka calmly closed his eyes and lowered his paws.
“Sir Lerit.”
I looked up, and Herkel held out the snow rat.
“Please try it. It’s really delicious.”
I quickly waved my hands.
“I’m fine. I brought some snacks with me, so I’ll just eat those.”
“You’re a mercenary, yet you can’t eat something like snow rat?”
My hand, which had been petting Vodka, froze. I looked up, and Calyx was staring at me as he spoke.
“People from Rollend sometimes act picky like this. But here, that’s an easy way to starve to death.”
Clenching my teeth, I replied,
“Thank you for your concern. But I’m used to protein biscuits, so I won’t starve.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Calyx smirked and tore into the snow rat. Before, he had looked like a noble, but now he looked like a barbarian.
My stomach churned a little. Still, I kept smiling and took out my emergency rations that I always carried. High-protein biscuits. They were food I always kept with me even in Rollend.
As I ate them, I also gave some to Vodka. Vodka stood up to eat them, and even when I tossed them carelessly, he caught them perfectly. Vodka’s amber eyes shone as he looked at me. They seemed brighter than when he was lying down.
I narrowed my eyes and looked at him.
Was he coming to me earlier because of the biscuits?
I was meeting Vodka’s shining yellow eyes when—
Calyx stood up and called a soldier. The soldier finished his snow rat and ran over to him. Once again, they talked near the Berok corpses.
I watched them for a moment, curious about what they were saying. Herkel was sitting beside me.
“When I see the Duke training soldiers in the morning, he’s extremely strict. Don’t any soldiers quit?”
Herkel shook his head.
“Not at all. If it weren’t for the Duke, most of us would’ve become smugglers or lived worthless lives. The only reason we’re living properly now is thanks to him.”
The soldiers nearby all nodded.
“That’s right. If it weren’t for the Duke, I wouldn’t have been able to pay my mother’s hospital bills. I would’ve lost all hope and lived carelessly. In that sense, the Duke is basically my lifesaver.”
No one was joking or being sarcastic. They all looked serious.
“Still, isn’t it hard to be trained while being cursed at?”
Back when I attended sword school, there was a teacher who swore a lot. Hearing those insults only made me rebel more. I lost all motivation to train.
But the soldiers answered differently.
“Afterward, the Duke always encourages us and gives personal training, so we don’t mind.”
“Yes. I was scolded a lot by the Duke too. But looking back, it’s thanks to that scolding that I didn’t die and managed to survive here for so long.”
“That’s true. If the Duke spoke gently, more people would’ve lost focus and died.”
The soldiers agreed as they gnawed on the snow rats. To them, Calyx’s harsh words seemed normal. In a way, their mental strength was impressive.
I wouldn’t be able to endure that.
For a while, only the crackling sound of the fire filled the air. I stared blankly into the flames while petting Vodka. Sleep was starting to creep in.
“By the way, do you think that rumor is really true?”
“What rumor?”
At Herkel’s question, a soldier beside him spoke carefully.
“They say that Count Medix, who was famous in the past, buried slush funds around here. Apparently, it’s as much as one billion.”
My eyes flew open. One billion. I perked up my ears and focused on their conversation.
“I’ve heard that too, but that was ten years ago. The Duke probably knows better than I do.”
“Really? Then what kind of relationship did Count Medix and the Duke have?”
At that moment, Calyx came over. Herkel shut his mouth and bit into his snow rat again.
No, so what kind of relationship did Count Medix and Calyx have?!
I stared hard at Herkel, but either he didn’t notice or ignored me and tossed the finished bones into the fire.
“We’ve rested enough. We’re moving again.”
Moving? At those unexpected words, I looked up and met Calyx’s eyes.
“Aren’t I going with you?”
“Judging by how many Berok appeared, there’s a high chance more will come out here. Aren’t you enough on your own?”
“Well… yes, but…”
“You killed that many Berok already. They probably won’t come out anymore. Even if they do, it won’t be many.”
After he put it that way, I had nothing more to say.
