Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Rickart, Ice, and Pallen followed the senior adventurers down south again.

If Beringen was a border area in the northeast, Torveil was an eastern border area, so the roads weren't that well-paved.

To the east, a magnificent mountain range ran across the continent from north to south, seeming to overlook the ground while standing tall.

From that high place, where perpetual snow existed, the wind blew towards Rickart's party. It was really cool. To the point where one wondered if summer wouldn't come.

"By the way, who is the kid called Ricky?"

One of the four senior adventurers going ahead said. He was a person with a large hooked nose.

"Me."

Rickart, wearing a hood on his red cloak, raised his hand and said.

"Eh...... It's completely different from what I thought. Since they said you killed that Jackal bastard, I thought you were a big and arrogant guy."

"You seem to hit a bit?"

"Well."

"No, it's nothing, just go easy on us. We are damn weak. Still, we are from the same Academy."

Although there was a concept of senior and junior, the hierarchy between seniors and juniors wasn't that severe. And there was a saying in this industry. The one who fights better is the senior.

Rickart just smiled slightly looking at the active duty senior adventurer from the Academy saying weak words. Because Rickart felt they were quite strong people.

"Anyway, it's fortunate. I was worried what if you were a self-willed guy. Since a kid who killed a Jackal would be unmanageable."

"By the way, how old are you?"

"11 years old."

At the word 11 years old, the four adventurers going ahead looked back sharply. Their eyes were wide open.

Because Rickart's development was a bit fast compared to his peers, even if they thought he was young, they never thought he would be 11.

"......Is that possible?"

"What is?"

"No, that...... what was I doing when I was 11."

"You rolled damn hard in the chicken coop."

"That was before entering the chicken coop. Ah right, I lived getting beaten damn hard by my father. Beaten by my brother, went out to the neighborhood and got beaten again."

"By the way, that kid is really handsome. What's your name?"

"Ice."

Maybe because they were strangers, Ice answered coldly. The adventurers were quick-witted and felt right away, ah, we shouldn't talk to this bastard. He is the problem.

But they didn't feel bad and changed the topic skillfully.

"Rickart if you are 11, let's see, by the time you become an adult at 15, you might become one of the Nine Swords of the Empire."

"Ei, that's not it."

"He took the Jackal's head at 11?"

"......Is that so."

"What is that?"

Rickart cut in the middle of the conversation and asked.

"If you are going to be an adventurer, you should know at least the common sense of this field. The Nine Swords of the Empire means the nine swordsmen who hit the best in the Empire. No one decided it, but people call them that. Four Emperor's Champions, Steiner the captain of the Ehrenberg 5, 'Nameless' X, 'Steel Arm' Randel, let's see, how many left...... one, two......"

"Anyway, two live in the west so no need to know. There is no chance to go there in a lifetime."

"Ah shit, who was it......"

"Are those people Sword Masters?"

Pallen, who felt curiosity while Rickart himself wasn't interested, asked.

"Just the name is Nine Swords. Among the nine, there are people who don't use swords. The Emperor's Champions are definitely Sword Masters, but I heard two are old and barely holding on. We don't know the rest either. Since we haven't seen them. It's a bit hard for adventurers to hang around the area where the Nine Swords are active. Because it's their territory."

Territory, so it sounded like some wild animal. Of course, the human world also had many parts not much different from the wild.

In the wild, enemies who could be competitors for survival were usually killed just like that. Just as lions killed hyenas or other beasts, if an adventurer hung around their territory, it might not end with just words.

Maybe the core of something called justification in fighting might be the removal of competitors. Power struggles, wars, trivial knife fights all.

"Anyway, that's how it is. Hey, Ricky, if you were born a man, shouldn't you become the best once? Don't you have that kind of greed? Empire's Nine Swords Golden Broccoli Ricky!"

Rickart chuckled. Because he thought all those were just vain names.

Honestly, he had been called by all sorts of titles in his previous life, so he didn't have much impression. Murderer among murderers, devil among devils, Steel Grim Reaper, etc......

However, come to think of it, they were nicknames that gave fear to others regardless of whether they were barbarians or Imperials. But unlike that, the Nine Swords of the Empire was an object of envy. Then it seemed a bit okay too......

"Well, if I fill the Ten Swords of the Empire, the number would fall perfectly and be good."

"Oooooh!"

"As expected of a kid who killed a Jackal, the way of thinking is different."

"Wow, fuck. Then are we traveling with the future Ten Swords of the Empire? If it's about Ten Swords, wouldn't he do at least a Guild Master? Please reserve a spot for me."

"No, I started the Nine Swords of the Empire story so I'm first."

"First come first served."

"This bastard always acts detestably like this."

"Fuck off."

"What did you say?"

"Hey hey hey! You guys stop it! Starting again. There are kids too."

Don't know why, but two people tried to fight in the middle, so the remaining two adventurers stopped them hurriedly. Wondering what is this, but these people were also not that old so they had a bit of a childish side.

They were all in their early 20s, and were adventurers who hadn't been long since their 3-year activity period ended after graduating from the Academy. Still, the fortunate thing was that they weren't bad people. By the way, is there anything to learn.

Fortunately, there were things to learn. First of all, the request for support from Academy students by the guild wasn't for a big reason, but because they had to search a wide area.

So they just needed a few more personnel, and therefore the job itself wasn't dangerous.

But since they didn't know what the deserters would do with their eyes rolled back, it wasn't completely safe either.

Anyway, what Rickart learned as a student from active duty adventurers were things like questioning, searching, and forming a contact network.

Because, other than military experience in his previous life, he always traveled alone, so he didn't know well about these organizational and managerial parts.

Questioning wasn't that difficult. Most rural people who weren't city people were born in their hometowns and never left their hometowns in their lives, so if a stranger came, they found it strange and remembered it clearly.

So if asked if they had seen a suspicious person recently, they answered almost accurately.

After chasing for three days like that, they could finally catch up with one deserter. However, there was a problem.

"Hey you fucking bastarddssss! Don't come closeeeee!"

At the entrance of a collapsing shack, a man wearing clothes like rags was holding a young girl. And he was staging a hostage situation with a crude knife against the girl's slender neck. That was the problem.

Imagine the village people flocking to surround the neighborhood to watch, and the girl's mother sitting on the ground crying her eyes out.

"Aigo! Aigo! Take me instead!"

However, the girl held hostage was just staring blankly, perhaps not knowing what situation she was in now.

"Ah this fuck......"

The adventurer leading Rickart muttered a curse. He was usually full of playfulness and cheerful, but now he had a truly annoyed face. After muttering fuck fuck alone for a while like that, he shouted abruptly.

"Hey! Put down the knife! What are you gonna do catching a kid! You are dead anyway! You bastard!"

"Yeah! Since I'm dying, it's good to take a kid with me! Come! Come on!"

"Ha! This fuck right here. Ha......"

The adventurer spat out curses continuously as if his blood pressure would kill him. There was no way. Only the choice of sacrificing the girl or letting the deserter go for now existed.

In fact, even if the girl was sacrificed, it wasn't a big problem. Since it was an era where few people considered the death of a commoner girl living in a rural village a big deal. Rather, missed deserter becoming a bigger problem was high.

However, since the adventurers knew that it was not something to do humanly, it was a headache.

"What do we do, this."

"I don't know either, fuck......"

Rickart, Ice, and Pallen stood far away and just watched. If a fight broke out, they would help, but this really seemed to have no way.

"Should we shoot an arrow......"

Pallen muttered. But there was no bow or sharpshooter to snipe from a distance. Above all, there was a risk of the girl getting hurt.

But Rickart looked intently, then approached the senior adventurer and said.

"Shall I try talking?"

"Yeah...... Well, do as you please."

He didn't say things like it's not your place to step in. He just seemed to have given up everything because this situation itself was frustrating. Only, leaving whether to make a decision or not.

Rickart got permission, took off his hood, and walked towards the deserter with heavy steps.

"What! Fuck! Don't come near! You, the sword on your shoulder! Put it down! Put it down!"

After approaching to some extent, Rickart obediently untied the sword on his shoulder and threw it far away. And threw the dagger far away too. To show he had nothing, he opened his cloak wide.

"What, it's a kid? Why is your hair like that? Are you teasing me? Huh!?"

As he discarded weapons, it seemed Rickart came into view properly only then. That much, the deserter was extremely tense now. Didn't know what accidental discharge would happen, and if done wrong, the girl could die.

"I'm not teasing. Just trying to talk a bit."

"Talk what? Nothing to talk! Just let me go! Let me go! I want to go home! I don't need the 3 months overdue salary! Just let me go! I want to see motherrrrr!"

The deserter shouted almost like crying. Rickart just listened quietly until he poured out all his pent-up anger.

Then, when the deserter got tired and panted for breath, only then did Rickart open his mouth.

"Where is the garrison?"

"What?"

"I asked where the battlefield is."

"......Raeldorf. Why?"

"Was winter cold?"

"Huh?"

"No matter how thick fur shoes you wore, didn't moisture fill inside the shoes and make feet swell plumply?"

"......H, how do you know that?"

"Spend a good day once in a while, and spend most hard days. A colleague who exchanged jokes until last night dies this morning, moldy bread, completely rotten fruits. Try to sleep with the help of alcohol, but nightmares are barely shaken off. Right?"

"......"

The deserter's eyes widened. And blinked.

Everyone here just considered the deserter a crazy person, but Rickart wasn't. Rickart understood. The pain and sadness that person must have felt.

It was rather better to have limbs cut off or body injured. What was truly hard to endure on the battlefield was the mind being destroyed. Rickart knew that pain better than anyone. Since he experienced it directly.

So Rickart felt sympathy from the deserter.

"The most fucking thing is bullshit orders coming down from above without knowing the field situation. While knowing this isn't right, go out and people die. Alcohol, gambling, women. In fact, soothing with that also has a limit. That's not because Mister is weak. Because you are a kind person. Just didn't suit the battlefield."

The deserter became dazed as if listening to a hypnotist's words. Blinked eyes, shook head, and became dazed again. As if dreaming with open eyes.

"So, no need to do this. Please let go of the girl. The mother is crying over there. Her heart must hurt very much. The girl has no sin. Isn't that right?"

The deserter was staring straight ahead. However, the eyes were out of focus. He didn't look at Rickart, but seemed to look beyond him.

He wasn't looking at people either. Over that distant horizon, towards the past beyond time. However, he couldn't cross the terrible past in the end. Even though he must have had pure days too.

The deserter finally lost strength, and the arm restraining the girl dropped with a thud. Like that, he stood blankly for a while, then suddenly stood up straight and shouted.

"Lift spears! Hat! Spears forward! Hat! 7th Infantryyyy! Advancceeee! Match stepssss! Got! One! Two! One! Two! Stab! Hua! Stab! Hua!"

He wasn't human. He was a broken machine.

And that broken machine stabbed his own neck hard with the crude knife without an inch of hesitation. Like carrying out an order.

"For God and Empire! Glory to the Crown Mercenary Corps!"

Thuck!

He fell in a stiff posture and hit his head hard on the ground. Glaring eyes, wide open mouth, blood wetting the ground. Trembling like that, he went limp.

A chilly silence settled on the scene. The wind blowing hollowly felt exceptionally colder. Rickart approached him, closed his eyes, and closed his jaw.

And holding the girl's hand coming back, everyone from kids to adults who flocked to watch looked at Rickart with expressions as if they had seen a ghost. Magic, isn't it magic? Is it mind magic?

He took the girl to her mother. The girl's mother also stopped crying and stared at Rickart blankly with wide eyes. It was because she saw a shocking scene enough not to remember that her daughter almost died just now.

Rickart walked away out of the crowd.

"Ricky."

Ice called. But Rickart walked swaying with unfocused eyes as if he didn't hear. Like a puppet with strings cut off.

Maybe because of the creepy atmosphere, senior adventurers also didn't dare to call or stop Rickart. Pallen just hurriedly packed Rickart's sword and dagger scattered on the floor.

Rickart was completely out of his mind and only heard a ringing sound in his ears. It was much harder mentally now than being attacked and fighting in the forest. Comparelessly harder.

Now he just wanted to be alone, so he walked aimlessly. Far, far away.

Like that, the eventful deserter request was completed.